Haskins & Snyder Ruin WFT Defining Week

ASHBURN, Va. - Just another day for the Washington Football Team. Nothing to see over here. Except for the most important regular-season game by far since the end of 2016 and the distinct possibility that not not everybody will be able to focus on it.

Including the WFT players and coaching staff.

Why? Because the quarterback and the owner continue to make news for all the wrong reasons.

Team owner Daniel Snyder, according to the Washington Post, paid $1.6 million in a confidential arrangement that dates back to 2009. The news, sordid as it is, could have come out a month ago, a year ago or at any point over the last 11 agonizing seasons.

Instead, the settlement news comes out five days before a chance at accomplishing something that around these parts happens no more often than every presidential cycle.

Somehow, we're all just supposed to act like this happens in every professional sports organization - that even the allegations are somehow "normal.'' It doesn't. They're not.

Thanks a lot, Dan.

QB Dwayne Haskins has had himself quite the last two days. He started Sunday for the first time in two months. He struggled, righted himself and then went down in flames late.

Haskins then decided to party with several women who were having a grand time at the strip club but doing so in a less-than-safe manner No masks. Close quarters. Direct contact.

Haskins didn't do anything criminal. Under normal circumstances, to some it wouldn't be a good look after a loss to go partying. But many would dismiss it as athletes being allowed to have a social life and to enjoy themselves. They risk their lives for our entertainment; their legal choices on their free time should be up to them.

But ... 2020 is undefeated in terms of damage caused, with COVID creating both fear and selfishness. And Haskins is guilty of being selfish and immature.

Thanks a lot, Dwayne.

The young QB can apologize from now until the end of time. But does that matter if he's ruined any realistic hope for a bright future?

Everyone in the NFL is aware of the "immaturity thing'' from when he left Ohio State; coach Urban Meyer made sure of that. And now "immaturity'' leads to "distraction'' and could even lead to "jeopardy.''

Will he be suspended? Fined? Put on an exempt list? I would anticipate league consideration in that vein. A team source told Washington Football on SI.com earlier Tuesday that they were handling the situation internally, and maybe that will be that.

Here's what shouldn't be done with Dwayne: Allowing him control of the football team. I'll argue there is no scenario in which Dwayne Haskins should start on Sunday for the Washington Football Team in the NFL Week 16 meeting with Carolina.

Yes, I mean even if Alex Smith isn't healthy. Start Taylor Heinicke. Start Steven Montez. Hell, start Santa Claus. It'll be Dec. 27; he'll be available.

It doesn't matter. NFL protocols were violated. Team protocols were broken. This is an organization that I've heard fines any individual in the building caught without a mask, $14,000 no questions asked.

If you've taken the protocols this seriously, why backpedal now? Why - as some have suggested WFT should do - bow to the violator?

Nope. Alex Smith plays if he can. Taylor Heinicke and Steven Montez are both active and his backups. Haskins is deactivated.

If Smith can't play, unrewarded goes Haskins, a two-time COVID protocol violator. You still deactivate Haskins and you start Heinicke or Montez.

Oh, and when Haskins sits? Maybe he can sit in the FedExField owner's suite, alongside Snyder, and this negative-news duo can compare notes on howe they've wasted millions of dollars - and maybe a rare and true chance at Washington success.

Thanks a lot, Dan.

Thanks a lot, Dwayne.

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