Steelers backup quarterback and former Ohio State standout Dwayne Haskins has died at the age of 24.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news on Saturday morning, saying that Haskins was hit by a car in South Florida that morning. His agent Cedric Saunders relayed the news.
Details of the incident have not yet been released.
The quarterback was training with other Pittsburgh quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers in South Florida, including Mitch Trubisky, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth, over the past few days. Just yesterday Haskins was posting videos and seen in photos of the crew during their training.
Haskins was set to turn 25-years-old on May 3.
“I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on the field and in our community. Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a tremendous friend to so many. I am truly heartbroken.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Kalabrya, and his entire family during this difficult time.”
While at Ohio State, Haskins started his sophomore season, finishing with 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns in a single season. He set various Big Ten records that year, including single-season passing yardage, single-season passing touchdowns and most Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards.
He broke various records at Ohio State, too, including single-season completion percentage (70%), single game passing yards (499) and single game passing touchdowns (six). He placed third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2018, behind fellow quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa.
Haskins, a former first-round pick, started for the Commanders for two seasons (2019, ’20), finishing with a total of 2,804 yards and 12 touchdowns. He only started in a total of 13 games for them.
In January 2021, the Steelers picked up Haskins as their third-string quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. Haskins never saw playing time in his two years on the team.
He did play in four preseason games in his time in Pittsburgh, starting one of the games. He finished with 379 passing yards and two touchdowns in those games.
