Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Dwyane Haskins has been blasted for his last of a work ethic prior to their recent overtime tie with the Detroit Lions. The 24-year-old arrived at the Heinz Field side in January, having spent the past two seasons at Washington, and is yet to start for Mike Tomlin’s side.
NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala noted that Haskins was putting in little energy in the warm-up and seemed preoccupied checking his phone, and had angered watching coaches with his lack of professionalism.
Haskins was the second pick for the Lions game, with Mason Randolph in for starter Ben Roethlisberger (who was out due to COVID-19 issues), and it seems his behavior could hamper his progress in the coming weeks. As for Tomlin’s side, they have been in a good run of form, yet the Pittsburgh Steelers’ odds to win the Super Bowl have dropped considerably of late, and they now stand at (+4000).
They started the season poorly, and those odds are a marked improvement on where they were some weeks back.
The Steelers lost three on the bounce early on but have settled the ship with four wins in a row before the tie with the Lions.
Kinkhabwala came under some criticism for the points she raised but has gone on to back her opinion, firing back at those who commented that Haskins might have been checking his phone to select music to get him in the zone, stating;
“It’s, of course, possible, But it just so happens I was standing next to multiple members of the team’s staff who were pointing out his lack of focus, his sub-par warm-up passes, and their disappointment in his maturation. That’s why I tried to illustrate: he’s not the savior.”
Steelers’ outside linebacker Alex Highsmith moved to defend Haskins, responding;
“I didn’t hear anything about that, but you know, I try to say people are making a story of that because ever since Dwayne has been here, he’s worked his butt off,”
Haskins was a first-round draft pick in 2019, selected 15th overall, after having a standout season with Ohio State, during which he threw 50 touchdowns.
It seems his chances at the Steelers may have been limited anyway, and the moment Roethlisberger returns, it would appear that Haskins will be parked back on the sidelines.
The upcoming Steelers schedule looks quite testing, with their next three encounters against teams with winning records, and they’ll need to have Roethlisberger available in order to really have a good chance of getting up a head of steam in their push to make it to the postseason.
The Steelers currently sit in the second spot in the AFC North and are someway behind the levels they hit in last season’s 12-4 regular-season run. However, they are just a game behind the Baltimore Ravens (in week 13 and again in week 18), who they still have to face twice in what will prove pivotal clashes.
