Dec 27, 2020; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins (7) passes the ball against the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dwayne Haskins is looking for a new team, and the Pittsburgh Steelers make a lot of sense as a landing spot for him.
Due in equal parts to on and off-field shortcomings, Dwayne Haskins did not last two seasons with the Washington Football Team. He was waived before Week 17, and the Carolina Panthers were reported to have interest virtually immediately. A head start on free agency continued on Thursday, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting Haskins is set to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Regardless of what Ben Roethlisberger decides to do this offseason, or if they give him a contract extension to reduce a massive 2021 cap hit, the Steelers have a question over who will be his successor under center and it’s a more urgent concern than ever. Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges are not the answer, but the draft looks like a viable path to securing a quarterback of the future.
Dwayne Haskins makes a lot of sense for the Steelers
Haskins has less than a full season worth of starts (13) in two NFL seasons, and he was the starter for only one season at Ohio State (14 starts) before being drafted 15th-overall in 2019.
So Haskins is still a pretty raw quarterback in a broad sense, with his 24th birthday coming in May. He’s obviously still got a lot of work to do to prove he can be a mature leader of a football team, like a starting quarterback needs to be. But his next team won’t be relying on him to be that guy right away (if ever).
Roethlisberger has regularly come off like he’d not be an ideal mentor for a young quarterback who could possibly replace him. He later back-tracked, but his initial “surprise” at the drafting of Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 draft says it all.
Someone will take a flier on Haskins. He won’t cost much to stash away on the depth chart and install in a system with (ideally) solid structure. The Steelers are right to kick the tires here, and a signing makes a lot of sense for both sides. But it’s also understandable if Haskins continues to entertain all possible options.