WASHINGTON — WUSA9's Darren Haynes interviewed former Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins after he was released by the team Monday.
The quarterback was emotional when he described how this has been the "worst week of his life."
Haskins said he would love to have another chance in the league and also shared that he has to be accountable for the choices he made.
"Gotta be accountable for the decisions you make in life, and be able to move forward and make the best decisions," said Haskins in part of his interview with WUSA9. "I have no doubt in my mind that I can overcome this, grow and become a better person, a better athlete, a better quarterback, and a better leader because of this. That's something I'm praying and working on to show. I'm hoping that a new change in scenery will help with that."
Haskins, 23, also thanked his teammates and those in the Washington Football Team organization that believed in him. He also apologized to them for this not working out and him not being successful in Washington this season.
The former first-round pick has been the center of controversy off of the field while performing poorly during the last few games this season.
Washington's head coach Ron Rivera released a statement Monday afternoon regarding the release of Haskins, which reads:
"This afternoon I met with Dwayne and informed him that we would be releasing him. I told him that I believe it benefits both parties that we would go our separate ways," Rivera said in the statement. "We want to thank Dwayne for his contributions these last two seasons and wish him well moving forward."
Rivera said either Alex Smith or Taylor Heinicke will start the regular-season finale with the NFC East at stake.
Rivera is “optimistic” Smith will be ready to play at the Philadelphia Eagles after missing the past two games with a strained right calf. Haskins started those two games, both losses, is 1-5 this season and turned the ball over three times in a 20-13 defeat to Carolina on Sunday that saw him benched for Heinicke.
The team drafted Haskins during the first round in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Haskins was handed a hefty fine last week for partying with several people and not wearing a mask
The organization fined Haskins $40,000 for violating COVID-19 protocols, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the fine.
Less than a week after being stripped of his captaincy and fined for violating protocol during a pandemic, Haskins’ failed second chance coupled with a special teams blunder and defensive miscues added up to Washington blowing its first chance to clinch the NFC East by losing to the Carolina Panthers 20-13 on Sunday.
Falling flat with a chance to win and get in came with one silver lining: Washington can still finish atop the division and make the playoffs by beating Philadelphia in the season finale.
“What was frustrating was we just didn’t play championship-caliber football,” Rivera said. “We still control our destiny. That’s the truth of the matter. We have one more game to play. It’s a very important game.”