The Washington Football Team has no plans to release quarterback Dwayne Haskins after yet another off-field incident. In no way does this mean Dwayne Haskins won’t be traded in the offseason.
Let’s break it down real quick. Haskins was seen partying in a strip club following Washington’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. It was yet another violation of the NFL COVID-19 protocols for a quarterback who was fined for similar reasons earlier in the season.
The backdrop here is Washington’s lack of faith in the 2019 first-round pick as a franchise quarterback. It’s why head coach Ron Rivera not only benched Dwayne Haskins earlier in the season, but relegated him to third-string duties.
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Any Dwayne Haskins trade this coming offseason would likely only net Washington a mid-round pick in return. That’s primarily due to his maturity issues, both on and off the field. As a quarterback, the 23-year-old Haskins has won just three of 12 starts while throwing for 2,650 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his career.
If traded, Haskins will have to land on a team with veteran leadership and a culture that will help him progress on the field while maturing off the field. It’s in this that we look at five ideal Dwayne Haskins trade scenarios.
Dwayne Haskins trade to the New Orleans Saints
All of this depends on whether Jameis Winston opts to re-sign with the Saints after not being given a chance to start when Drew Brees was injured earlier in the season. Winston signed with New Orleans on a one-year deal last offseason, primarily because he wanted to learn behind Brees and work with respected head coach Sean Payton. That might now be up in the air.
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If Winston does indeed opt to go somewhere else, Dwayne Haskins makes perfect sense as another project quarterback for a Saints team that needs to find a long-term solution under center. Despite some success this season and the Saints’ belief he can be the man, I just don’t see it in Taysom Hill.
Dwayne Haskins trade to the Minnesota Vikings
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they are locked in on struggling quarterback Kirk Cousins through at least next season after signing him to a ridiculous contract extension last spring. The veteran has padded his numbers somewhat this year with the now 6-8 Vikings pretty much out of playoff contention. However, there’s very few who believe the 32-year-old Cousins is the quarterback of the future in Minneapolis.
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A Dwayne Haskins trade would come cheap in terms of both draft pick compensation and 2021 salary. Washington can’t expect to land anything more than a mid-round pick in return. Meanwhile, Haskins is set to count a mere $3.9 million against the cap next season. Logically, the Ohio State product could already be seen as an upgrade over the atrocity that is Sean Mannion as Minnesota’s backup.
Dwayne Haskins trade to the New England Patriots
To say that the Patriots are in quarterback purgatory (one of my favorite terms) would be an understatement. Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has thrown all of five touchdown passes in 13 starts this season. That’s not a typo. It’s a real thing for an NFL “quarterback” in 2020. Needless to say, the Patriots are already looking to move off Newton after one season.
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A Dwayne Haskins trade wouldn’t necessarily be made under the guise of him starting for Bill Belichick and Co. Rather, he’d be brought in as a backup to learn under a yet-to-be-acquired veteran. New England’s quarterback room is going to have a major makeover this offseason. Could Haskins be one of those moving parts?
Dwayne Haskins trade to the San Francisco 49ers
Speaking of horrible quarterback rooms, this has been one of the downfalls for the defending NFC champs during a disastrous 2020 season in the Bay Area. Jimmy Garoppolo can’t stay healthy and could be jettisoned from Northern California quicker than someone wearing a specific red hat. Nick Mullens is not the answer and might have to undergo Tommy John Surgery. C.J. Beathard should have never been in the NFL, even as a backup.
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The obvious backdrop here is a 49ers team that believes it can contend after dealing with myriad injuries this season. As with the Patriots, a Dwayne Haskins trade would not be made for him to start immediately. It would be in lieu of the 49ers exhausting a high-round draft pick on another unproven quarterback as the team looks to get back into Super Bowl contention in 2021. It seems to make a lot of sense.
Dwayne Haskins trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger has already noted he’ll be back with Pittsburgh next season. After that, it’s anyone’s best guess what might happen. Hampered by a knee injury that has the Steelers concerned, Big Ben seems to be a shell of his former self. That showed up big time in an humiliating Week 15 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
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What we do know is that general manager Kevin Colbert has failed to get his Steelers that heir-apparent to Roethlisberger. It’s been a major issue, especially after the likes of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges struggled in his stead last season. Acquiring Dwayne Haskins for a mere mid-round pick to work behind Big Ben could be the best scenario for Pittsburgh moving forward.