There’s never been any doubt about Dwayne Haskins’ ability as a passer, but as a complete quarterback, now, that’s a whole ‘nother story. His self-entitlement and lack of maturity seem to be his Achilles’ heel and continue to be on display time and time again. That was his downfall with the Washington Football Team and soon could be his ticket out of Pittsburgh.
Mason Rudolph has had 4 years to show who he is. Dwayne Haskins, ostensibly one play from his 1st game action yesterday, spent warm-ups throwing lousy passes & checking his phone. Ben Roethlisberger may not be who he once was, but there’s a reason he’s your QB, #Steelers fans. https://t.co/MyQYaMTqeb
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) November 15, 2021
With Ben Roethlisberger out due to COVID-19, head coach Mike Tomlin named backup Mason Rudolph the starter for this past weekend’s tilt against the winless Lions.
During pregame warmups, Haskins was noticed by some Steelers coaches who reportedly were unimpressed with his warmup routine, which consisted of him going through the motions and tossing lackadaisical passes.
He also constantly checked his cellphone and looked very disinterested. Not exactly the routine you’re used to seeing QBs go through in preparation for a game or practice.
“Look at that! How ridiculous is that? That’s just lazy,” an unnamed coach said.
WFT Drafts Haskins No. 15 Overall In 2019 Draft: “Y’all Done Messed Up Now”
Those words from Haskins’ mouth on draft night, were in reference to teams passing on him early in the draft and his childhood favorite team (New York Giants) taking Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall.
"The league done messed up."
Dwayne Haskins letting Washington Redskins fans know he's ready to get work 💪 pic.twitter.com/ym6tjIFBvr
— ESPN (@espn) April 26, 2019
WFT owner Dan Snyder made this pick based solely on the fact his son attended Bullis High School in Maryland with Haskins. Jay Gruden, the head coach at the time, was adamant about Haskins needing at least 2-3 years of polishing before he could be a viable starting quarterback.
Haskins saw the field sparingly in 2019, as Gruden had no desire to develop him. With the team beginning 0-5 Gruden was fired and Haskins was eventually inserted by interim head coach Bill Callahan. He showed some promise, and the belief was that maybe he could be the guy coming into the 2020 season.
The Hiring Of Ron Rivera Wasn’t Good For Haskins And His Immaturity
When Ron Rivera was hired in 2020, he came in with a disciplinarian approach and it was obvious a lot of that “Club Med” stuff from the previous regime wasn’t going to fly with him. Rivera immediately traded franchise stalwart Trent Williams after some contractual issues. Rivera also laid down the gauntlet that no one was safe.
The only mistake he made was naming Haskins the starting QB very early in his tenure. Maybe it was about showing confidence in Haskins. Maybe because he had guided Cam Newton’s acension to MVP, Rivera felt he could do the same with Haskins. But Haskins didn’t need anything given to him without the QB putting in the work. His mind hadn’t developed past his immature ways.
A rocky start to the 2020 season didn’t help matters with a four-turnover game at Cleveland. A week later he was benched against the Ravens. Haskins saw the field again later in the season but wasn’t effective.
The final straw — the one that ushered him out of Washington — was a video that circulated showing Haskins at a party for his girlfriend and breaking the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol. Rivera was forced to release Haskins.
Now Haskins is squandering his opportunity to be Big Ben’s successor for a franchise that’s as stable and respectable as any.
If he doesn’t right the ship and mature fast he won’t sniff the NFL after a while. He’s got a strong arm and is still young, but he’s BLACK, and it doesn’t work for us like it does for them.
