When the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Dwayne Haskins as a free agent this offseason, I referred to the transaction many times on the Steeler Nation Podcast as a “no risk, high reward" signing. Taking into account that the Steelers got the 15th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, starting his 3rd year of his career, with a cap friendly futures contract near league minimum, it was a no brainer to acquire a college quarterback tied for the 5th most touchdown passes ever thrown in a NCAA Division 1 season with 50.
This ‘no risk’ hiring is already paying dividends. Haskins opened training camp as the 3rd quarterback, ahead of Josh Dobbs. What he’s done in training camp is reinforce the Steelers’ depth chart as he is currently leading all training camp quarterbacks in snaps, yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt, and yards per completion. He is already entrenching himself as the 3rd best quarterback deserving of a roster spot, but now he appears to be pushing Mason Rudolph as the possible #2 quarterback this season.
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Brooke Pryor of ESPN tweeted his interview:
Is there an open competition for the Steelers No. 2 QB?
Dwayne Haskins: “I’m trying to make it one.”
Is Thursday your first try out to be the future franchise QB?
Haskins: “I feel like that was the first day I got here.” pic.twitter.com/GtEzTi7Hot
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 3, 2021
Haskins is already positioning himself as a competitor and stated that his coaches are expecting more of him. Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette added:
Little more on this: Dwayne Haskins says he’s been “told certain things” about his future with the franchise, but he’ll keep that between him and the coaches. https://t.co/TNFg7hbEiT
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) August 3, 2021
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It seems as though his new head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert have more confidence in him and have shown more support for this young man than he received during his time in Washington. “He’s grown by leaps and bounds”, coach Tomlin stated before practice today, then continues, “He does a good job of communicating with coaches, with players, gaining an understanding of what we’re trying to do schematically and his role in it. Gaining a rapport with the receivers specifically."
Will the Pittsburgh incubator create the next great NFL quarterback? We don't know for sure, but we will see his first action on Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game, right after the starting quarterback Mason Rudolph finishes his time.
Whether he passes Mason Rudolph as the #2 quarterback, or becomes the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger has yet to be seen. But since he seems destined to make this team as a rostered quarterback, Dwayne Haskins is already a successful signing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Do do yinz think of Haskins in training camp so far? Sound off in the comment section below!
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