The Washington Football Team moved on from quarterback Dwayne Haskins earlier this week.
“This afternoon I met with Dwayne and informed him that we would be releasing him,” Washington head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement on December 28. “I told him that I believe it benefits both parties that we go out separate ways. We want to thank Dwayne for his contributions these last two seasons and wish him well moving forward.”
Haskins wasn’t claimed on waivers, which means he is now a free agent and can sign with any NFL team. There are a handful of clubs reportedly interested in his services and while the Atlanta Falcons haven’t been considered one, some fans wish the team would sign him. But others completely disagree, thinking he would be too distracted by the city’s nightlife.
Haskins Loves to Party
Haskins started the season as Washington’s starting quarterback, but when he failed to live up to expectations, he was benched for backups Kyle Allen and Alex Smith. Haskins earned his first benching after violating COVID-19 protocols by booking a reservation for a family friend at the team’s hotel in mid-October, leading to a team fine of $4,833 for the infraction, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Haskins got another shot at starting again from Weeks 14-16 when both Allen and Smith were forced out with injuries. A day after Washington’s four-game win streak was snapped in Week 15, photos emerged of Haskins partying with strippers without a mask on, which he later claimed to be a “private birthday party for his girlfriend,” according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
When pictures surfaced on the internet and were brought to the team’s attention, the 23-year-old was fined $40,000 and lost his spot as a team captain for violating protocol. Washington did not release Haskins until Monday, December 28 solely because they needed a starting quarterback against the Carolina Panthers.
Haskins started on Sunday, but was soon benched after a poor start, completing 50% of his passes and throwing a pair of interceptions. Washington put in their fourth-string Taylor Heinicke and ultimately lost to Carolina, 20-12.
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If Brett Farve Couldn’t Last, Then Haskins Would Never
Atlanta’s nightlife is a lot crazier than anything Haskins has seen in the nation’s capital, but nobody ever warns newcomers visiting Atlanta that there is imaginary caution tape around the region.
Take “Buckhead” Brett Farve for instance, who partied way too hard during his short-lived stint with the Falcons in 1991, ultimately leading to Atlanta trading him away to Green Bay the next offseason.
Favre was young when Atlanta drafted him and various stories claim he nearly drank the entire city dry and was always seen spending his nights at the bars in Buckhead (hence the nickname).
The Falcons head coach at the time, Jerry Glanville, was not a Favre fan at all. When he met the Southern Mississippi product during his first training camp, he embarrassed the now-Hall of Famer in front of his teammates by telling him he meant to draft “the guy from Mississippi State.” Glanville barely played Favre his rookie season, in which he totaled five snaps and completed zero passes, threw two interceptions and was sacked for an 11-yard loss.
There was one moment during the annual official team photograph at the training facility that sparked Glenville to end the experiment. Favre whipped into the parking lot an hour after the shoot had already ended. His excuse was he had been stuck behind an awful traffic accident until he realized Glanville wasn’t catching onto the lie, before later admitting he was hungover and forgot to set an alarm.
“I got trapped behind a car wreck,” Favre originally told Glanville, via Gunslinger by Jeff Pearlman.
“You are a car wreck,” Glanville replied.
Atlanta fined Favre $1,500 for the incident and when he would tell strangers he met at the bar that he played for Atlanta, they would think it was a lie since he wasn’t in the team’s 1991 picture.
Favre was later traded to the Green Bay Packers for a first-round pick, which could have been the best-worst mistake Atlanta ever made.
Haskins wouldn’t know how to handle Atlanta, sure, but what if the Falcons are missing out on a future Hall of Famer as they did with Farve?
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If Brett Favre Couldn’t Survive Atlanta, Neither Would Dwayne Haskins