Steeler Nation in the Hands of a Buckeye?

After a heartbreaking end to the 2020 NFL Season, Pittsburgh Steelers fans had many questions about the future.  These questions stemmed not only about the future of the offense, but specifically the future quarterback situation.  Big Ben Roethlisberger still has 1 year left on his contract, and is currently set to be paid 41 million dollars next year, which means the Steelers will be in negative cap space.  

With negative cap space, quarterback options are limited, which is why teams that are put in this situation usually look to the draft to bolster their quarterback room.  However, the Steelers took another route.  They signed the one and only Dwayne Haskins.  Haskins is a former first round pick who played at Ohio State.  This signing may have come to a surprise to many NFL fans, as Haskins has not had a good career in the NFL, including on field and also off field problems. I still believe signing Haskins was a great move for the Steelers, as he resembles a young Ben Roethlisberger.  Though Haskins hasn’t performed well, he still is a former first round pack and has talent.  The Washington Football Team historically has not been a great franchise in the past few years, and did not have great coaching until this year with Ron Rivera.  So, Haskins wasn’t in the best position in order for him to succeed.  

All in all, the Steelers coaching staff could really develop Haskins and his play style.  There is still a long road ahead, but it is still possible, especially with a motivated coaching staff.  Dwayne Haskins will also have one year to sit behind Ben Roethlisberger, so he will have time to learn the offense.  Only time will tell regarding Haskins’s development, but Steelers fans could surely be hearing his name for another 3-5 years if everything goes according to plan.