Report: Doug Williams did not delay Dwayne Haskins’ release

The Washington Football Team parted ways with Dwayne Haskins on Monday after he was once again benched the day before. Some believe they should have moved on from him sooner, and a report this week claimed head coach Ron Rivera wanted to but senior vice president of player development Doug Williams talked him out of it.

Williams says that never happened.

Peter Schrager of FOX Sports said on Colin Cowherd’s show Monday that Rivera nearly cut Haskins early last week but Williams and a few others in the organization convinced him not to. Williams told Chris Russell of Sports Illustrated that any talk of him slowing the decision to waive Haskins is “news to me.”

Russell said multiple sources told him Rivera made both the decision to give Haskins another shot last week and then the decision to cut him on Monday. Williams said he had nothing to do with Haskins remaining on the roster after the former Ohio State star was disciplined for attending a party maskless.

Williams had tried to counsel Haskins in a variety of ways since Washington drafted the QB with the 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Russell reports that Rivera actually asked Williams to speak with Haskins last week to make sure he was in the right frame of mind heading into Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

Washington lost to the Panthers, and Haskins turned the ball over three times. He was benched in the fourth quarter.

One of the reasons the Washington job appealed to Rivera is that he has a big say in roster decisions, so it would be a surprise if Williams or anyone else tried to step on his toes in his first season. Haskins lost his job because of a lot more than his poor play, and there can’t have been many people in the organization who were devastated to see him go.