Smith on Haskins' apology: 'I felt like he was sincere' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

On Wednesday, Dwayne Haskins stood in front of the entire Washington Football Team and apologized for partying without a mask following Sunday’s game.

Haskins also expressed remorse specifically to veteran quarterback Alex Smith for his actions, ones he called “immature and irresponsible.”

Speaking with local reporters on Wednesday, Smith felt Haskins’ apology was “sincere” and said that the team will help him move forward from the mistake.

“I felt like he was sincere in his apology. He wanted to talk to the group,” Smith said. “He apologized to me separately on the side. I felt like he was heartfelt and sincere in that. I think as teammates, our job as disappointed as we were, also to help him and support him as a teammate through all this.”

Smith wasn’t the only Washington player to support Haskins after he apologized, as Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff also backed the second-year QB.

“He was whole-hearted about his apology, he made a mistake and he owned up to it, and we’re moving on from here,” Scherff said.

Haskins was reportedly fined $40,000 by the team, the largest fine to date for violating COVID-19 protocols. The 23-year-old was also stripped of his captaincy. He was also at practice on Wednesday, and head coach Ron Rivera said he will be the starter on Sunday if Smith is unable to play with his ailing calf injury.

While Smith said he’s still digesting Haskins’ incident, the veteran quarterback plans to help Haskins in “the best way possible” he can.

“We realize that we are a team, and we go through things and make mistakes,” Smith said. “We all have our own deals going on. No judgment there, just obviously being a teammate and supporting him and pushing him certainly in that QB room to try and do that the best way possible.”