The Washington Football Team have released former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins.

Haskins' departure follows a tumultuous week for the quarterback, who was forced to apologise after he was pictured partying without a mask at a strip club following Washington's Week 15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite that breach of coronavirus protocols, Haskins kept his place as starting quarterback for the Week 16 game with the Carolina Panthers with Alex Smith still on the sidelines due to a calf injury.

However, he emphatically failed to deliver the goods as Washington missed out on the chance to clinch the NFC East title and a place in the playoffs, losing 20-15 to the Panthers at FedEx Field. 

Haskins completed 14 of his 28 passes for 154 yards, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble before being benched for Taylor Heinicke, who finished with 137 yards and a touchdown.

Heinicke will likely get the start in Washington's decisive Week 17 meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Should Washington win, they will qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season. Defeat would hand the NFC East to the winner of the matchup between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.

Haskins, however, will play no part, with head coach Ron Rivera confirming Washington had decided to part ways with the 23-year-old.

"This afternoon I met with Dwayne and informed him that we would be releasing him," Rivera said in a statement posted to the team's official Twitter account.

"I told him that I believe it benefits both parties that we go our separate ways. We want to thank Dwayne for his contributions these last two seasons and wish him well moving forward."

The 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Haskins ends his Washington career with a 3-10 record as a starter, having completed 60.1 per cent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.