The morning of this April 9, 2022 will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most tragic in the history of the NFL. The information of the Steelers quarterback’s death was known through ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, who confirmed the terrible news through Dwayne Haskins‘ agent, Cedric Saunders.

Haskins has been with the Steelers since the 2021 season and with Ben Roethlisberger retiring, he would surely be in consideration for the new quarterback. Haskins excelled in college football at Ohio State, and in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft he was selected by the Washington Commanders.

What was the cause of death?

Details of what happened are not yet known, but it is known that it was a car accident in South Florida, where Dwayne Haskins was presumably invited by Mitch Trubisky who had organized a meeting with his new teammates at his home to exercise and meet. In the next few hours, more details of what happened will surely be known.

While no one can deny that Big Ben is one of the best quarterbacks in modern history, he’s not getting any younger, and that’s why the team needs to address that situation and focus on their future at that position.

And, even though it’s still pretty early to tell, it seems like they’ve liked what they’ve seen from Dwayne Haskins, who was pretty impressive in his preseason debut against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mike Tomlin Says Dwayne Haskins Was ‘In Command’ Vs. The Eagles

“I thought he was in command tonight,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He did a great job communicating with people, going through his progressions. There was a third-down play, third-and-8 maybe, and I saw him go through three or four reads and throw the ball over the middle of the field and converted for us. That was a snapshot of the night he had.”

Haskins Says The Steelers Asked Him To Be ‘Smooth’

Haskins completed 16 of 22 passes for 161 yards and 1 touchdown, adding 2 carries for -5 yards. He took care of the football and didn’t force things in the offense, which is exactly what quarterback coach Mike Sullivan told him when he asked him to be ‘smooth like a jazz player’:

“Pretty much be smooth, and that is what I was trying to do,” Haskins said. “Be smooth, allow plays to come to me, trust what I saw and let my eyes and feet tell me where to go with the ball.”

Haskins drew mixed reviews since his days in college and he didn’t do much to silence his critics during his stint with the Washington Football Team but he’s clearly got the physical tools and upside. So, if he continues to ball out, who knows? He might as well carry Big Ben’s torch once he’s done.

The Buccaneers had already plenty of weapons in Mike Evans, OJ Howard, Ronald Jones II, and Chris Godwin. Then, they only got better by adding Rob Gronkowski and signing Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown.

As you may know by now, however, they had their fair share of struggles throughout the season, but Tom Brady and their offense still came through and were able to put an end to their playoff drought.

Bruce Arians Lauds Washington Football Team,Takes A Shot At Dwayne Haskins

And now that all teams are 0-0 and that anything can happen in the playoffs, the Buccaneers are once again one of the teams to beat in the league. However, head coach Bruce Arians doesn’t want them to be too confident.

The Bucs will host the Washington Football Team for their first game of the postseason, and even though they barely made the playoffs at 7-9, Arians will take them pretty seriously, as he knows that they’re a much better team with Alex Smith under center:

“We’re not playing a 7-9 team. We’re playing a 4-1 team. When Alex Smith plays they’re a 4-1 team. We’re not playing Dwayne Haskins. We’re playing Alex Smith,” the head coach told ESPN ahead of their meeting.

To put things in context, the Washington Football Team were just 1-5 when Dwayne Haskins started, which is just one of many reasons why the franchise decided to cut him loose just over a week ago.

Having a veteran quarterback like Alex Smith is obviously a big upgrade for Washington and they also feature one of the best defenses in the league right now, so even if that shot at Haskins was uncalled for, Arians is right: Don’t be too confident and get the job done.

As a result, Haskins has been stripped of his captaincy and he was fined $40,000 for his actions. According to reporter Ian Rapoport, the decision to take away the captaincy was an internal team decision. This is Haskins second COVID-19 protocol offense, as early this season he invited a friend to the team hotel, the incident also resulted in a fine.

Dwayne Haskins is the second-high profile athlete to get slapped with a fine for going clubbing before or after a game. Houston Rockets star James Harden was hit with a $50,000 fine for going to a club and not wearing a mask.

Social media slams Dwayne Haskins

Fans reacted harshly towards the young quarterback; many fans have cited his immaturity as a reason the team should not resign him following the 2020 season. Against the Seahawks, Haskins threw for 295 yards and a touchdown, he also threw two interceptions in the 20-15 losing effort.

Haskins future with Washington is in doubt for next season, especially following these irresponsible antics. The team will not release him now, but rather wait until the end of the season to make a decision.