Update: 

The Washington Football Team released quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. less than a week after social media posts surfaced showing he partied at a club maskless, in violation of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.

Head Coach Ron Rivera said in a statement on Twitter that he met with Haskins Monday afternoon.

“I told him that I believe it benefits both parties that we go our separate ways,” Rivera said. “We want to thank Dwayne for his contributions these last two seasons and wish him well.”

Original: Two days after photos surfaced of him partying at a club maskless, Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins is now no longer captain of his football team.

This maskless act was in violation of COVID-19 protocols, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, so Haskins is being stripped of his captainship as punishment. He was also fined $40,000, approximately 60% of his weekly pay, according to reports.

The photos appeared to show Haskins dining indoors with a large group at The Oceanaire Seafood Room on F Street and dancing in a club after the team’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/NickiJhabvala/status/1341411780556443649

On Wednesday, Haskins told reporters that he was at a birthday party for his girlfriend, but that he accepted the punishment of the fine and being stripped of his role as captain. He said that he “deserved it” for violating NFL protocols of not wearing a mask when in a public setting with 10 people or more.

The ban on dining indoors in D.C. doesn’t go into effect until Friday at 10 p.m., meaning that this activity was technically not in violation of District law. Nightclubs in D.C., however, have been closed since March.

But the NFL and the Washington Football Team have enacted even stricter COVID-19 protocols since November, due to the Thanksgiving holiday and games that had to be rescheduled due to a number of players testing positive for COVID-19.

Hawkins apologized on Twitter on Tuesday for his actions, according to the Washington Post, but made his account private shortly after doing so.

This is the second time this season that Haskins has been caught violating COVID-19 protocols. In October, he was fined nearly $5,000 for making a reservation for a friend at the team hotel.

It appears as if these transgressions will not impact Haskins’ playing time. Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera said at a press conference today that he’s still in line to start at quarterback on Sunday if Alex Smith isn’t able to play.

The team is taking on the Carolina Panthers in a game that has big implications for their chances to win the division and make the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Haskins is in his second year with the Washington Football Team. He was the number 15th pick in the 2019 draft and played high school football locally at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland.

But his professional playing career hasn’t taken off as initially hoped. While Haskins was the starter at the beginning of this year for the Washington Football Team, he was benched in October.

Haskins regained his job only after Smith’s leg injury, but that appears it could be short-lived.

This post has been updated with information that the Washington Football Team released Haskins. Debbie Truong contributed reporting.