(Photography by Karl Roser on Steelers.com)
One of the biggest first-round quarterbacks was recently released before the 2021 season was over with. Dwayne Haskins went from being a top-15 draft pick to a starting quarterback who struggled with the Washington Football Team. They would eventually release him and he would land with Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. The Steelers feel they have something by signing Haskins to a minimum non-guaranteed contract and allow him to show his talent during their training camp. It is unclear if he will make the team, but he will at least get another opportunity in the NFL to prove his worth.
Mike Tomlin has the same agent as Dwayne Haskins and the Steelers feel if Haskins can show up in camp with a good work ethic he has a good shot at making the team. Haskins just needs to find a way to shut out the noise and focus on the game of football. Even Ron Rivera admits he has all of the talent in the world to make it in the NFL, but he needs to just eliminate the distractions on and off of the football field. That is what the Steelers are hoping they can help him do in Pittsburgh.
Kevin Colbert on Dwayne Haskins: "We're excited to see what Dwayne can do with us," Colbert said. "It didn't work out for him in Washington. We had high grades on Dwayne coming out of Ohio State. He got picked a lot higher than we were able to make that decision. He's a young, talented quarterback that we're anxious to see what he can do once he gets here and gets working with us."
Throughout the 2021 offseason, it seems that Haskins has put all of his focus on football. He also has been saying he is betting on himself to make it in Pittsburgh which is a good first step. Haskins needs to come into Pittsburgh very confident he can make the team because if it works out for both the Steelers and himself then both sides would hit the jackpot. Haskins is betting on himself so much he is willing to take a minimum deal with the Steelers without guaranteed money to show he has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback.
Remember Dwayne Haskins is no slouch as many football scouts liked him enough to take him in the first round of the NFL draft. Who knows maybe it could work and Haskins was just in the wrong football system in Washington?
Only time will tell if Haskins will make the team. If he can continue to eliminate the distractions and show up in camp focused then he has a good shot to make the team in Pittsburgh. I would rather see Haskins work out rather than fail in Pittsburgh because the organization needs a quarterback for the future. So at the end of the day, it would become a win-win situation if Haskins does end up working out in Pittsburgh. Let's hope things work out with Haskins going forward.