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The Pittsburgh Steelers gave Dwayne Haskins a second chance in the NFL after the Washington Football Team cut him last season despite the fact that he was a first-round pick in 2019.
At least so far, Pittsburgh’s low-risk flier on Haskins looks like it could pay massive dividends. Even those who doubt him the most had to admit Haskins looked good in Thursday’s preseason game versus the Philadelphia Eagles. He led the Steelers on four scoring drives (three touchdowns and a field goal) before leaving the field.
- Dwayne Haskins stats vs. Eagles: 16-of-22 passing for 161 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions, 108.3 passer rating
in the battle with Mason Rudolph for the backup QB job behind Ben Roethlisberger, it’s clear that Haskins has the higher ceiling and the superior arm strength. It’s just a matter of whether he can continue being consistent and making good decisions on and off the field.
Although detractors will be skeptical of Haskins’ showing since he was playing against backups, he may have played well enough to earn a preseason start over Rudolph next week. Haskins took what the Eagles defense gave him, but made an off-schedule, 22-yard touchdown throw to Anthony Johnson that required a little improvising.
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Rudolph has been in Pittsburgh for a number of years, and he just doesn’t look like a viable long-term successor to Big Ben. When the Steelers square off with the Detroit Lions next Saturday, they should really consider throwing Haskins in to start and see how he does against superior competition — and with better skill players around him, too.
After all, the whole point of signing Haskins was on the off chance he could still live up to his first-round billing and just maybe take the reins from Roethlisberger down the road.
Thursday was a small but meaningful step in Haskins earning trust from the Steelers organization. They know what they have in Rudolph. They might as well see more of what they have in Haskins.
Dwayne Haskins draws praise from NFL Twitter for stellar showing vs. Eagles