LANDOVER, Md. – Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins opened the day as the starter with a chance to redeem himself. He left with many questions about his future, calling last week the most difficult one of his life.
Washington defeated Haskins in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers. He completed 14 of 28 passes for 154 yards and two interceptions.
“Definitely the most difficult week of my life. I just want to recover and move on, pray and get my life in order,” said Haskins. “I can’t really put into words how I’m feeling right now.”
Coach Ron Rivera is still unsure who will start Washington’s 6-9 season finale in Philadelphia in 6-9. If Alex Smith’s right thigh is healthy, he will begin. But if Smith can’t play, Rivera was evasive about who would start.
“You signed up for this job, so that’s what it is,” said Haskins, who told reporters at his home after Sunday’s defeat. “Sometimes, being human is not enough. You have to assume your responsibilities and mistakes and put your best foot forward and pray for one opportunity … You never know when you will have another.”
Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Haskins did not refuse requests to speak to the media and was told that quarterback Taylor Heinicke would meet with reporters and that Haskins could go home.
Haskins was dejected during his videoconference call, clearly understanding the opportunity that was missed just a week after obtaining it.
But after he violated another COVID-19 protocol – he was not wearing a mask at his girlfriend’s birthday party, where more than 10 people were present – he was fined $ 40,000 and stripped of his captaincy. Then, on Sunday, he was put on the bench.
“We didn’t achieve anything, so I decided to make the change,” said Rivera.
Rivera hoped that Smith could return on Sunday. After missing last week’s game with a sprained right calf, Smith trained fully on Friday but felt pain on Saturday.
“We were kind of waiting [Smith would play], and it didn’t work “, said Rivera.
All the while, Rivera made it clear that Haskins would start if Smith couldn’t play. The other options were rookie free agent Steven Montez, who never took a picture in a game, and Heinicke, who hasn’t played an NFL game since 2018 and spent the last winter in the XFL.
But Heinicke knew of Washington’s attack, having played for coordinator Scott Turner with Carolina and Minnesota. Rivera turned to Heinicke in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, and he responded by completing 12 of 19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Rivera said he didn’t make the move before because of how Haskins finished against Seattle last week, when he completed 23 of 31 passes for 197 yards in the second half of a 20-15 loss.
“I wanted to see him go out in the third quarter and see if he could recover the energy he had last week,” said Rivera.
This did not happened.
“We just weren’t clicking,” said Haskins. “I wish I could go back and change some things, but now it’s over.”
When asked what he wanted to see from Haskins, Rivera offered a word: “Improvement”.
Sunday was not the time to fully appreciate Haskins’s future. But his season was not in the way he or Rivera expected. Several sources have said that choosing the draft for the first round of 2019 needs to prepare much better as an NFL quarterback and that they want him to mature. Haskins has another two-year contract as a rookie and was not in the mood to look beyond this season.
“This is not a question for me to answer,” he said. “I’m here. I’m looking forward to the next week.”