• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Cold Wire

Breaking News, Sports, Entertainment, TV, Tech ...

  • Home
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • MLB
  • World News
  • Entertainment
  • Cold Hard Facts
  • About
You are here: Home / Sports / NFL / Can Dwayne Haskins Build A Career In Pittsburgh?

Can Dwayne Haskins Build A Career In Pittsburgh?

By Andrew Pistone June 21, 2021

Dwayne Haskins Jr. #7 of the Washington Football Team attempts a pass against the Seattle Seahawks at FedExField on December 20, 2020 in Landover, Maryland.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

 

Even though quarterbacks are seemingly playing later into their careers than they ever have before, both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger know that they don’t have too much more time together.

Roethlisberger has been with the Steelers since the 2004 season, and has had an excellent career.

But at age 39, the end is fast approaching, and Pittsburgh will have no choice but to groom another signal-caller for the future.

In January of this year, the team signed former Washington 2019 first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins, in hopes of taking a flier on his potential.

Haskins did not have an impactful run as a starter with Washington, to say the least.

It’s not very common for organizations to move on from first-round talent a year after the pick, so there are a lot of red flags around the former Ohio State quarterback.

Let’s take a closer look at whether Haskins can turn his career around in the Steel City.

Blessed to be here. 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/CdDj2YwmsX

— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) June 1, 2021

 

Why He’ll Blossom In Pittsburgh

Although it took an unfortunate set of circumstances to him to get to his point, Haskins hopefully realizes now that it is a privilege, not a right, to be a NFL starting quarterback.

With this swift fall from grace, the organization will have their fingers crossed that he’ll take every practice, film session, and interaction much more seriously than he did in Washington.

Sometimes it does take young players a couple of years to mature and get used to the notion that football is now their job.

Haskins’ trajectory has garnered much more attention since he’s a quarterback, but he’s only 24 years old, and is not done writing his story by any means.

Additionally, he might have landed in the perfect spot.

Haskins does not have any grandiose expectations heading in 2021, as the Steelers will roll with Roethlisberger for another campaign.

He has the benefit of watching the legendary signal-caller week in and week out, to learn what it takes to be successful at this level.

Head coach Mike Tomlin is also one of the premier leaders in the game, and can handle combustible personalities to a point if they are producing on the field.

Tomlin was able to deal with Antonio Brown for nearly a decade, and is uniquely positioned to manage the locker room if one player isn’t quite fitting in perfectly.

Happy Birthday To @dh_simba7 Appreciate Everything You Do Young King ! Keep Elevating 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/p7rkzxShaE

— Darvin Kidsy Jr (@Dkidsy3) May 3, 2021

 

Why He Won’t Make It With The Steelers

While it is true that NFL teams rarely cut bait with first-round talents so quickly, it has happened a little bit more frequently in recent years.

The Arizona Cardinals, and eventually the Miami Dolphins, moved on from first-round quarterback Josh Rosen after he compiled a 3-13 record as a starter in two NFL seasons.

Haskins’ career record is pretty similar to Rosen’s, as he’s just 3-10 starting games in the NFL.

Rosen is having a difficult time making it back for another chance, and he doesn’t have the same type of character concerns that have been reported about Haskins.

Sometimes it can be unfair, but when the league turns the page on a player, it’s hard to come back from that.

The Steelers don’t exactly have a Steve Young-type waiting in the wings once Roethlisberger does decide to call it quits or change teams, but that might not be a glaring problem for Tomlin.

Mason Rudolph is not anyone’s idea of a viable long-term NFL starter, but Tomlin was still able to coax an 8-8 season out of the team with him starting most of the games in 2019.

Pittsburgh never sets out to finish .500 in the regular season, but it might have engendered a confidence throughout the organization that they don’t need an upper echelon quarterback to compete.

If that’s the case, Haskins’ upside, relative to his downside, might not make sense as a long-term investment.

 

Verdict: Haskins Has A Steep Uphill Climb, And Will Likely Not Make It In Pittsburgh

As it stands right now, Haskins isn’t even the backup to Roethlisberger; he’s the backup to Rudolph.

That means he’s unlikely to see the field in 2021 unless something drastic happens to the quarterback room with regards to injury.

In this day and age, NFL teams also don’t carry three quarterbacks on the active roster each and every week, which means the former Buckeye will be even further from relevancy.

There is a good chance that Haskins will take this chance more seriously and become the professional Pittsburgh needs him to be, but his road map to making a difference on Sundays has a lot of obstacles.

Recent News

Terry McLaurin of the Washington Football Team reacts following a play during the first half of their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on November 21, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Commanders Teammate Shares Joy For Terry McLaurin
Zach Wilson #2 of the New York Jets takes the field against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Zach Wilson Spotted Putting In Extra Work This Summer
Wide receiver Davante Adams #17 of the Las Vegas Raiders runs with the ball during mandatory minicamp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center on June 07, 2022 in Henderson, Nevada.
Raiders Fans Spend Big To Show Their Support For Davante Adams

Filed Under: NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers Rumors And News (Updated Daily) Tagged With: Pittsburgh Steelers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search The Cold Wire

Footer

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Editorial Guidelines

Contact Us

Sitemap

Advertise

Follow us on

Copyright © 2022 · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ·TheColdWire.com

Suggest a Correction

Can Dwayne Haskins Build A Career In Pittsburgh?

1000 characters remaining