Dwayne Haskins on track to start Washington's Week 16 game vs. Panthers, per report

Alex Smith is still dealing with a calf injury that caused him to miss last week

It appears the Washington Football Team will start second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins for the second straight game when they face off against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday. On Thursday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the sense out of Washington is that it would be "challenging" for Alex Smith to return from his calf injury this week, even though he was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday. Haskins is reportedly taking the starter reps at practice on Thursday, and is on track to start in Week 16.  

Smith injured his calf during the first half of Washington's Week 14 win over the San Francisco 49ers, and it also caused him to miss Washington's Week 15 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. In the 20-15 loss, Haskins completed 38 of 55 passes for 295 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He got off to a slow start, however, as the offense recorded just 33 yards of total offense in the first quarter, while Haskins completed just 5 of 8 passes for eight yards. There were good moments and bad moments from his performance, but it's what happened after the game that cast doubt on his role in Washington moving forward. 

Earlier this week, Haskins was seen at an exotic club not wearing a mask, which was a clear violation of COVID-19 protocols. Haskins apologized to his teammates for his mistake, and was both fined and stripped of his title as captain. That's according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, who said Wednesday that while Haskins was initially voted a captain by teammates in training camp, Washington has removed that honor as "part of the internal punishment" for this week's violations. Haskins' fine amounts to $40,000, per Rapoport, the largest known financial punishment for a COVID-19 violation and roughly half his standard paycheck. It's unknown how this situation has affected Washington internally as the club continues to fight for its first postseason appearance since 2015. In six games this season, Haskins has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,285 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.