NFL Rumors: Dwayne Haskins’ Best Landing Spots Include Rams & Steelers, ‘CBS Sports’ Suggests
With Dwayne Haskins now a free agent after his release from the Washington Football Team, a new report listed four possible destinations, including the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers, for the 23-year-old quarterback.
As explained on Monday by CBS Sports‘ Jeff Kerr, the Rams may be in need of a backup signal-caller behind Jared Goff, who broke his thumb during the team’s Week 16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and won’t be available for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Currently, Los Angeles’ second-string QB is former Alliance of American Football star John Wolford, though the Rams are reportedly expected to sign former Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick Blake Bortles to serve as Wolford’s backup, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Although the Rams may have multiple options to temporarily replace Goff, Kerr stressed that Haskins could benefit in the long-term if he joins the organization as a second-stringer behind the former No. 1 overall draft pick.
“The appeal with the Rams is offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, who was Washington’s offensive coordinator during Haskins’ rookie season in 2019. Haskins improved under O’Connell in the final weeks of 2019, completing 72.1% of his passes for 394 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions in the final two weeks of his rookie season. “
Talking about the Steelers as a potential fit for Haskins, Kerr wrote that the club does not have any immediate replacement for Ben Roethlisberger, who is expected to remain in the starting lineup until the end of the 2021 campaign. Although the CBS Sports writer noted that Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t the type to “put up with off-field antics,” he predicted that Haskins could redeem himself and “re-learn” the fundamentals of NFL quarterbacking.
While the Steelers have two young backups in Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges, it was noted that both signal-callers might not be reliable enough to step up in the event Roethlisberger suffers another serious injury. Haskins, on the other hand, could potentially use 2021 as a “developmental” season and eventually replace the 17-year veteran once he retires.
Aside from the two aforementioned teams, the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans were mentioned as possible landing spots for Haskins as a free agent. According to Kerr, the Seahawks are in need of a young backup behind Russell Wilson and are also a club whose general manager, John Schneider, has previously taken chances on controversial players such as wide receivers Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown.
The Titans, meanwhile, were described as a team that could “do wonders” for Haskins, given how their current starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, revitalized his career after replacing Marcus Mariota behind center midway through the 2019 campaign.
