Steelers sign former Washington QB Dwayne Haskins

In an intriguing twist to their offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers added a quarterback with pedigree.

The team Thursday announced the signing 2019 No. 15 overall draft pick Dwayne Haskins. Haskins, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist for Ohio State in 2018, met with some of the organization’s coaches Thursday.

#HereWeGo
3 in the Bible stands for restoration and eternal life. Let’s work ? pic.twitter.com/x4ywPubhu1

— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) January 21, 2021

Haskins started 13 games the past two seasons for the Washington Football Team but was released last month a day after being benched during a loss to the Carolina Panthers. The week prior, Haskins had been fined by the team and stripped of his captaincy for violating covid-19 protocol after photographs emerged of him attending a party where many guests were not wearing a face covering.

The 23-year-old Haskins is 3-10 as an NFL starter with 12 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions while completing 60.1% of his passes.

Among the quarterbacks the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Haskins had fallen behind on the Washington depth chart over the past two seasons are 36-year-old Alex Smith and journeymen Case Keenum, Kyle Allen, Colt McCoy and Taylor Heinicke.

Among 42 NFL quarterbacks who had at least 137 dropbacks this season, Haskins was graded last by Pro Football Focus. He was 2 for 20 with three interceptions on passes to targets 20 or more yards downfield this season.

In Footballoutsiders.com’s metrics, Haskins came in 33rd out of 36 qualifying quarterbacks in 2020, when he completed 61.4% of his 241 passes for 1,436 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

But Haskins is less than two years removed being the third quarterback taken in a draft in which he was said to have “explosive arm talent.”

Haskins had a 50-to-8 TD-to-INT ratio while completing 70% of his passes for an Ohio State-record 4,831 yards in his only season as a college starter.

Haskins is represented by the same management group (Goal Line) that serves as the agent for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Haskins also went to high school in Potomac, Md. Tomlin often speaks fondly of his “DMV” roots (the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area) and frequently makes it known he tends to follow players who come out of the area.

Multiple outlets are suggesting the #Steelers would be wise to acquire demoted Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
The idea might not be bad, if the reasons are right.@TimBenzPGHhttps://t.co/b5a8ubpzf8

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 16, 2020

Steelers franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be 39 in March and is due $19 million in compensation if he plays an 18th NFL season in 2021. Whether he is part of the team or not, the Steelers have more than $21 million in salary-cap obligations due on Roethlisberger.

Backup Mason Rudolph is entering the final year of his contract and has made nine NFL starts. Rudolph performed well in his only start this season, throwing for 315 yards and two touchdowns in the regular-season finale at Cleveland.

The Steelers this past week severed ties with No. 4 quarterback Devlin Hodges. No. 3 Josh Dobbs will be a free agent in March.

In an indication of how far Haskins’ career has fallen since being a top-20 pick less than two years ago, his signing by the Steelers was part of a team-issued release Thursday that also announced that the Steelers agreed to reserve/future deals with defensive back Stephen Denmark and tight ends Charles Jones and Dax Raymond.

Haskins’ maskless-party incident last month was the second time over a 2 1/2-month span he was fined for transgressions related to covid-19 protocol. They buttressed off-the-field questions that surrounded Haskins during his Washington tenure.

The Washington Post reported in October that Haskins’ then-benching was because he “had fallen into poor study and practice habits.” The Post detailed that former coach Jay Gruden and his staff were “stunned by (Haskins’) constant late arrivals to meetings, failure to master the playbook and refusal to prepare for games as diligently as NFL quarterbacks must.”

Haskins also infamously missed the final snap of a 2019 game when he had been taking a “selfie” with fans along the sidelines.

In an interview after his release with Washington, D.C., television station WUSA, Haskins expressed contrition and took responsibility for the Washington team’s decision.

“I have no doubt in my mind I can overcome (my mistakes) and grow and become a better person, a better athlete, a better quarterback and a better leader because of this,” Haskins said. “And that’s something I am praying and working toward being able to show, and I’m hoping that a new change in scenery can help with that.”

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