Washington Football Team: The curious case of Dwayne Haskins

Is the punishment enough?

Now, I know some fans are in the camp that what players do to blow off steam and outside of the playing field is none of our business. Now that may hold some weight if Haskins was producing better results on the field while not breaking COVID protocols while off it. Don’t get it twisted, this isn’t a James Harden-esque situation.

Washington is one of only a handful of teams that hasn’t lost any starters due to COVID this season. In Monday’s press conference, Coach Rivera mentioned the importance of following those protocols as they could provide a competitive advantage as the season progresses.

"One thing we talked about before the season started is that, there’s going to be protocols, there’s going to be rules. We’ve got to be wary of these, we have to always have them in our mind because at the end of the year, it could be the team that survives. You know the team that’s gotten to this point with fewer COVID incidents may be one of the teams that’s on the rise and so we’ve kind of worked that way too so hopefully that’s something that stays with them."

Ironically, that message hasn’t gotten through to Haskins.

“Short-term memory,” right Terry?

Yet here we are days after the incident and Haskins is getting first-team reps as the team was able to avoid a Denver Broncos type scenario.

Haskins apologized for his actions. Again. He got stripped of his captaincy and fined $40,000. Is that enough? Guess, we’ll have to wait and see.

We’ve seen the immaturity over and over and over. At some point, the words won’t be enough, but it doesn’t look like today is that day. After dealing with RGIII’s diva behavior, I think fans don’t have to patience to go through it again.

Will Haskins ever live up to his potential? If he does, it most likely won’t be with this franchise. And so continues the curious case of Dwayne Haskins.