Dwayne Haskins neglected to fulfill his job duties while taking a selfie with a fan to celebrate Washington's Week 12 win over the Detroit Lions, and the rookie quarterback owned up to it while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“It was an honest mistake,” Haskins said, per John Keim of ESPN NFL Nation, “and it won’t happen again.”
Haskins ended up missing the final snap — a kneel-down — at the conclusion of Washington’s 19-16 victory on Sunday, as he was over by the stands at FedEx Field snapping the aforementioned selfie. Case Keenum was rushed into action and handled the formality.
Head coach Bill Callahan admonished Haskins for the selfie stunt, calling it “disappointing” earlier this week, although he indicated the rookie would not be punished or fined for the incident.
“I think he was caught up in the emotion of the game itself,” Callahan said, via NBC Sports Washington. “A youthful exuberance. I think it got away from him a little bit. But, I think he’s fully aware that professionally, his mind should be on the game throughout the 60 minutes.”
While Haskins had to do deal with the embarrassment of his gaffe and weather the disappointment of his head coach, the fan in the selfie praised the 22-year-old signal-caller.
Haskins has experienced the customary growing pains that confront most rookie quarterbacks after Washington selected him with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Ohio State phenom has only two touchdowns to six interceptions while completing 54.6% of his passes and posting a 55.9 quarterback rating.
The hope in D.C. is that Haskins learns from his mistakes, both on the field and at least in the selfie instance, slightly away from it as well.
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