Madden Monday: Dwayne Haskins will 'be out of the league' by 2023
TribLIVE’s Mark Madden didn’t have a particularly enjoyable week. The KISS concert got canceled in Burgettstown. The casino he was at in Las Vegas wouldn’t put on the soccer game he wanted.
So someone is going to feel his angst. In this case, it’s Steelers backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
After weeks of Steelers fans pumping up Haskins as a potential successor to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the replacement for Mason Rudolph as the second QB, Haskins’ start against the Carolina Panthers was a dud.
Going against the Panthers first-string defense — a first for him this preseason — Haskins completed just 9-of-16 attempts for 108 yards, a touchdown and an interception. In the first half, against the Carolina starters, Haskins was a meager 3 of 9 for 24 yards and an interception. That was good for a passer rating of just 2.8.
According to Madden during this week’s Madden Monday podcast, that’s a more accurate representation of who Dwayne Haskins is, the guy who struggled so badly as a first-round pick in Washington that he was shipped out after just two years.
Not the guy who appeared to find himself in Pittsburgh during the first three preseason games.
“Dwayne Haskins stinks,” Madden said. “There’s been this huge discussion about should he be the No. 2. He’ll be out of the league —period — by 2023. Nobody is going to want him.”
Madden seems to think the public is making excuses for Haskins.
“The one I laughed at the hardest was (the idea) that he was in a bad situation in Washington, he’ll blossom in Pittsburgh. Oh really? A bad situation in Washington? Where he was the starting quarterback? That’s a bad situation? I would bet just about anything that the Washington Football Team wins more games than the Steelers this year,” Madden said.
Not to mention, Rudolph’s numbers were pretty decent during the preseason.
“The job was Mason Rudolph’s to lose. And he didn’t,” Madden said.
Madden is also dubious of starting right tackle Zach Banner.
“That’s another guy,” Madden said. “He’s only played 12 snaps in the preseason after not playing at all last season. You can’t count on the guy. Get Dan Moore Jr. in there ASAP.”
Madden and I get into a lot of other topics, including the state of the Steelers defense, contract discussions for Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt, and Stephon Tuitt’s health.
We also mix in some college football talk, the Montreal Canadiens-
Plus, more talk about the KISS cancellation, Mark’s review of the Guns N’ Roses show and Mark teases his next big project.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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