Steelers GM says Pittsburgh is 'excited' to see Dwayne Haskins originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
There was not much to be encouraged by when watching the former Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins this past season.
Haskins, who began the 2020 campaign as Washington's starter, lasted in that role four weeks before being relegated to third-string. Head coach Ron Rivera wanted to see growth from the QB, and when another opportunity came for the QB late in the season, Haskins made the same mistakes he had earlier in the year. After breaking coronavirus protocols and turning in a poor performance against Carolina in a must-win Week 16 game, Rivera released him.
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Haskins is now with the Steelers after signing a futures contract earlier this offseason. While the 2019 first-round pick didn't leave a lasting impression in Washington, his new general manager has high hopes for the former Ohio State star.
"We're excited to see what Dwayne can do with us," Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said on Wednesday, via Pittsburgh's YouTube channel.
Colbert went on to say that Pittsburgh had a high draft grade on Haskins when he came out of college, but Washington selected the quarterback before Pittsburgh had the chance to make a pick.
"It didn't work out for him in Washington," Colbert said. "We had high grades on Dwayne coming out of Ohio State. Of course, he got picked a lot higher than we were able to make that decision. It didn't work. He's a young, talented quarterback and we're anxious to see what he can do once he gets in here and gets working with us."
Colbert's comments come at an interesting time considering the uncertainty the Steelers have at the quarterback position, too.
Franchise legend Ben Roethlisberger, who turns 39 in March, wants to return, but the future Hall of Famer also carries a cap hit of $41 million next year. By releasing him, the Steelers would save $19 million in cap space in a year where the league's overall salary cap has dipped by nearly 10 percent due to pandemic.
The Steelers GM said that as of now, Big Ben is "our quarterback," but implied that the salary cap could be the reason for a divorce between the two sides really soon.
"Ben obviously is our quarterback. He did some really special things last year and we believe he can still do special things as we hopefully move into 2021," Colbert said. "Of course, Ben is under contract. We have some salary cap implications, not only with him but a lot of players and potential new players. We have to be aware of that. He has to be aware of that, as he is."
If Roethlisberger were to return to Pittsburgh, he'd almost certainly have to restructure his contract. The Steelers have numerous free agents -- Bud Dupree, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Avery Williamson, among others -- and likely will struggle to keep any of them, should Roethlisberger return at his current number.
Pittsburgh has a major decision to make this spring regarding a franchise legend, one the franchise appears to be at a crossroads with right now.
