Mike Florio Wouldn't Blame Dwayne Haskins If He Faked an Illness

Mike Florio wouldn't blame Haskins if he faked an illness originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

There has been rampant speculation about the status of Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins since his benching and subsequent absence from Week 5's matchup with the Rams.

Haskins was benched for Kyle Allen, and reports surfaced Sunday morning that he was actually not even present at the stadium due to a non-Covid illness.

That illness kept him from practicing for much of the following week, and fans have taken to Twitter to speculate that he may just simply not want to show up, especially after trade rumors surfaced as well.

There's no evidence that the illness is anything but real, but NBC Sports' Mike Florio is curious about what could be keeping Haskins from playing.

"It's a helluva stomach virus. I mean, if I'm 23 years old and I've got an illness that keeps me from functioning on Sunday, and on Wednesday and Thursday it's still affecting me, I'm going to the hospital and I'm saying give me a scan of everything going on inside of me because something's seriously wrong," Florio told Chad Dukes on 106.7 The Fan.

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The football analyst does go on to admit that he isn't reporting on any fake illnesses. Having said that, Florio sure wouldn't blame Haskins if the disease was less than legitimate.

"Look, for all I know it's legitimate, but I'll say this," Florio said. "If I was 23 years old and I had been the first-round pick of a football team and I get cast to the curb and I'm not even gonna dress, I probably would have a quote-unquote illness too. And wouldn't want to have anything to do with the team while I process what my next move is, because I would feel like I was disrespected and betrayed. And I think those are reasonable reactions by Dwayne Haskins."

Again, Florio isn't reporting that Haskins is faking anything. But he definitely understands where a move like that could be coming from.

"I'm not saying it's right to fake an illness, but you know what," Florio said. "Sometimes you gotta take a step back and regroup. And I sure as hell would've done that, so I can't fault Dwayne Haskins if it was an illness and not a quote-unquote illness."

The Washington Football Team kicks off against the Giants Sunday at 1 p.m. in New York.

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