Dwayne Haskins, the former first-round NFL Draft pick who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy during his collegiate career at Ohio State, died on Saturday morning. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Haskins’ agent relayed the news that the Pittsburgh Steelers was hit by a car in Florida. He was less than a month away from his 25th birthday.
Dwayne Haskins, a standout at Ohio State before becoming Washington’s first-round pick and playing in Pittsburgh, died this morning when he got hit by a car in South Florida, per his agent Cedric Saunders. Haskins would have turned 25 years old on May 3.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 9, 2022
Schefter went on to report that Haskins was training with his teammates at the time of the incident.
Dwayne Haskins was training in South Florida with other Steelers QBs, RBs and WRs. He was killed this morning in South Florida when he got hit by a vehicle. Tragic….
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 9, 2022
Haskins went 15th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft to the Washington Commanders, but before Washington’s 2020 season could conclude, it was announced that the team decided to cut him. He did, however, get a second chance with the Steelers, which signed him in January of 2021 and had him on the roster for the duration of the 2021 NFL campaign, although he was only active for one game. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had previously announced that Haskins would compete for the starting job in the wake of Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement.
Prior to his time in the league, Haskins was a highly-sought after 4-star recruit out of Maryland who opted to go to Ohio State. He redshirted his freshman campaign and got the occasional snap in JT Barrett’s stead during his second year in Columbus, and prior to the 2018 campaign, he earned the starting job over Joe Burrow. His one year at the helm could not have gone much better: The Buckeyes went 13-1 with a Big Ten title and a win over Washington in the Rose Bowl, with Haskins winning MVP honors in both games.
