A long and drama-filled week is now behind us in Washington, and it’s time to get down to business. We at long last know who is going to start for the Washington Football Team, and it will be second-year QB Dwayne Haskins who gets a big opportunity with starting QB Alex Smith likely to be inactive with a calf strain.
This gives Haskins yet another big opportunity, though we don’t quite know how much he will be able to do with this one. Veteran RT Morgan Moses, who is one of the biggest emotional leaders in the locker room, recently said that Haskins has a chance to win back the team after an indefensible mistake left the team at risk this past week with the QB breaking COVID-protocols to attend a birthday party.
From @NFLGameDay: #WashingtonFootball Team players were disappointed with Dwayne Haskins' COVID-19 protocol violation but know he has the chance to, in the words of team leader Morgan Moses, "win the locker room back" against the #Panthers today. pic.twitter.com/peiXWOH8w7
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 27, 2020
It would be a great story for Haskins to come out on Sunday and lead Washington to a win, helping them clinch their first playoff appearance since 2015, but operating under the assumption that that scenario plays out, where do we go from there?
What if Haskins does get back in the good graces of his teammates, what then? There’s likely no scenario where Haskins is still on the team in 2021, as Washington will assuredly move on and go in a different direction, so is it all about pride?
At this point, probably so, but that is still a meaningful thing in the NFL, especially when Haskins will likely have to win over a new locker room in the coming years. We’ll see if he can win back his old locker room with a solid performance on Sunday in what could be Washington’s biggest game of the year.
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