Dwayne Haskins has officially made the Steelers 53-man roster, but is there a good enough reason to justify keeping him around this year?
With NFL teams forced to cut their rosters down to 53 players, the Pittsburgh Steelers had some difficult decisions to make. One move we expected to see coming was the release of veteran Joshua Dobbs.
Throughout the summer, Dwayne Haskins was running ahead of Dobbs during team sessions at training camp and in each of the four preseason contests, so this move was hardly out of the blue. The decision to cut Dobbs means that Haskins will be Pittsburgh’s third-string quarterback in 2021. But what purpose does it serve to keep him around?
Should Haskins stick around on Steelers roster?
This is a legitimate question. As the team’s third quarterback, there’s not a chance that Haskins is active on game day. This is a player who will be holding a Microsoft Surface on the sidelines and helping Ben Roethlisberger prepare before, during, and after the game.
This is a job that Josh Dobbs did very well with in 2020, and something Roethlisberger made sure to vocalize to the media. Dobbs was responsible for dialing up a few scoring plays in the red zone last year, and Ben admitted that he was a big help. If Haskins doesn’t offer the same value from the sidelines, is this the right choice?
If you are worried about Dwayne Haskins getting poached in free agency, don’t be. Most NFL teams have a backup or two they really like, and some teams are choosing to roster just two quarterbacks with a third on the practice squad (something the Steelers should strongly consider doing).
After an abysmal showing in his preseason finale, I’d be very surprised if Haskins was snatched up by another organization – especially considering there are quarterbacks like Cam Newton available on the market after cutdowns.
What would most likely happen if cut is that Haskins would clear waivers, Pittsburgh could sign him to the practice squad, and he can press his luck with the team again next summer. However, by the Steelers 2022 training camp, it’s possible there could be a new young face at quarterback anyway.
For Haskins to enter an NFL game this year, it’s going to take an injury to both Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph – something that seems quite unlikely. I have a really hard time seeing what competitive advantage he brings to the Steelers roster in 2021, and he has shown that there’s not enough upside there to waste a roster spot on him.