Dwayne Haskins
1997 - 2022
This past weekend brought with it the sad news of the death of Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins, killed in a pedestrian accident as he tried to cross on foot an eight lane interstate highway in Florida. The circumstances of Haskins death are perplexing, to say the least, and there are some reports that there are some unusual and perhaps unsavory elements to the story. The investigation continues, and who knows what the final verdict will be. None of that, however, lessens the tragedy of someone losing their life so senselessly at the age of 24.
Haskins was an All-American quarterback at Ohio State who left school early to enter the NFL draft in 2019. He became a first round draft pick of the Washington Football Team and started a number of games for Washington in his two seasons there. He was beset with what were termed as "maturity issues" and was cut after the 2020 season. He signed on with the Steelers and spent the 2021 season as the team's third QB behind Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. He never appeared in a regular season game with the Steelers. With Roethlisberger's retirement, it appeared that Haskins was about to have a clear shot to compete for the position in training camp and, at the least, have a real shot to beat out Rudolph as the back up quarterback.
Whatever issues Haskins may have had in the past, it was clear from the statements issued by the team's ownership, coaches, and players that he was a well liked and popular guy and a good teammate.
So sad that this happens to someone so young.
RIP Dwayne Haskins.
As an aside, in his Post-Gazette column on the topic, headlined "Haskins' Dearth Latest Tragedy to Beset Pittsburgh Sports Teams", Ron Cook turned to his mental rolodex and then phoned in a couple of paragraphs about Roberto Clemente, Bob Moose, Michel Briere, Gabe Rivera, Badger Bob Johnson, and a few others. It was an example of lazy writing. Cook probably did it in his sleep.
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