Dwayne Haskins, the former Washington Football Team quarterback, has had his fair share of problems recently. He didn’t perform nearly as well as the franchise expected him to and was involved in a couple of scandals outside the field, one of which included strippers and Haskins breaching NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.
However, the young quarterback has now joined the Steelers and has a chance to get a new lease on life. Haskins’ new franchise has just announced that they have signed him on a reserve/futures contract and that gives him a decent chance of making a comeback, provided he doesn’t make the same mistakes.
Advice from the Comeback Expert
One man who knows what it takes to make a successful comeback is former Haskins’ teammate, Alex Smith. The current Washington Football Team quarterback made a remarkable comeback from injury and will likely win the 2020 Comeback Player of the Year.
In addition to being great at coming back when being written off, Smith has also worked closely with Haskins and knows how good he can become.
The 36-year-old veteran quarterback also mentored the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Colin Kaepernick in his career and knows a talented quarterback when he sees one. Therefore, when he says something concerning comebacks and young quarterbacks, Haskins should listen closely.
Smith is full of praise for his former teammate but is also well aware of which aspects of his game and character he must focus on and improve. The Comeback Player of the Year shoo-in said that Haskins is “crazy gifted” and“crazy talented”, in addition to being a “good kid”.
However, he also stressed that there were a lot of factors that were working against the young quarterback in the last couple of years and didn’t allow him to reach his potential.
He admitted to advising Haskins personally to eliminate the distractions going on in his life if he is to have any chance of becoming a franchise quarterback.
Expectations Prevented Haskins from Reaching His Potential
Smith said that he was aware that it is hard for any young player as a draft pick to deal with the weight of everyone’s expectations, especially when that player is a quarterback. However, he also said that they have no choice but to take those expectations in their stride and prove that they are worthy of leading a team.
And it’s those great expectations that seemed to be part of the problem for Haskins from the first minute he came into the NFL. When he joined Washington Football Team from Ohio State as a first-round pick, big things were expected from the young quarterback.
Haskins had a great full season at Ohio State, but only had 13 career starts in Washington before Ron Rivera had seen enough and decided to let him go less than two years later.
Can Cut Out Distractions in Steelers’ Stable Franchise
Smith said that he hoped that Haskins would cut out all distractions that had been holding him back and that he would start playing well once again now that he has joined the Steelers.
He concluded that Haskins would never be able to develop into the player he could be if he didn’t eliminate those distractions from his life.
Dwayne Haskins will have a decent chance to get his career back on track in Pittsburgh, even though he won’t be their starting quarterback, of course.
However, you can argue that there aren’t many places better suited for a player looking for a new lease on his life as a quarterback than the Steel City.
The Steelers are one of the most stable franchises in the league and have experienced players that Haskins can learn from. Of course, provided he is indeed ready to start a new chapter in his career.
