Dwayne Haskins will look to make one final case to become Steelers backup quarterback in 2021 as he will get the start vs the Carolina Panthers.
It may have taken until the fourth exhibition game this summer, but Dwayne Haskins is finally getting the chance to lead the offense earlier in the game than rival quarterback, Mason Rudolph. However, that’s because Rudolph won’t be playing in this contest.
In addition to resting Ben Roethlisberger (along with most of the starters) this week, Mike Tomlin confirmed that Mason Rudolph will also be sitting this game out, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
This comes as a bit of a shocker. Resting the starters is nothing out of the norm for the Steelers, but I would have thought that Rudolph would have suited up for this contest. In his place, it’s been confirmed that Dwayne Haskins will lead the charge at quarterback, followed by Josh Dobbs.
Unfortunately for Haskins, he will once again be called upon without the help of most starters. In addition, it sounds like the Panthers are set to play their first-team offense and defense to begin the game.
Even if Haskins performs very well in this contest, is there anything he can prove? Could he still make a case to be the Steelers backup quarterback in 2021 if he plays out of his mind?
Does Haskins have any chance to be Steelers QB2?
While I wouldn’t rule this out entirely, the odds are certainly stacked against him. The fact that Mason Rudolph will be comfortable watching from the sidelines tells you a lot about what Pittsburgh thinks of him.
However, I seem to recall a similar scenario a few years back. As quarterback Landry Jones sat out for the final preseason contest, Josh Dobbs was electric. This ultimately resulted in the team cutting Jones and keeping Dobbs in addition to Mason Rudolph – a move we didn’t foresee coming.
The Steelers are not going to cut Mason Rudolph – regardless of how Dwayne Haskins and Josh Dobbs play on Friday night. I think they still like him. However, a strong performance by Haskins against the Panthers could get them thinking.
Perhaps there’s a team out there who could offer up a day-three draft choice to acquire Rudolph as their primary backup. I can think of a few teams who could use an upgrade off the top of my head. Because the Steelers have three backups there like, I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled the trigger (much like they did on a Dobbs trade in 2019).
Assuming nobody gets traded, it’s going to be very difficult for Haskins to leapfrog Rudolph on the depth chart at this point, and it would likely take a phenomenal performance against the Panthers to make the Steelers think otherwise. If he performs similarly to what we have seen all preseason, that won’t be enough to get it done.
It will be interesting to watch how things unfold on Friday night against the Carolina Panthers. You better believe Dwayne Haskins is going to be playing his heart out, but with Mason Rudolph watching from the sidelines, the decision at backup quarterback this year may have already been made.