For Dwayne Haskins, the road back to the NFL will go full circle.
The third-year quarterback's final start as a member of Washington, the team that selected him in the first round of the 2019 draft, came Dec. 27 of last year when he started a game against the Carolina Panthers.
Haskins completed 14 of 28 passes for 154 yards with two interceptions, getting pulled early in the fourth quarter in favor of Taylor Heinicke in the 20-15 loss.
Haskins was released by Washington the next day and signed by the Steelers about a month later to be given a shot to be the team's No. 3 quarterback in 2021.
"I just have to go out there and do what I am asked to do as far as leading the offense, making the right reads," said Haskins. "The most important thing is taking care of the ball. I am looking forward to going to Carolina and playing against guys that are very talented. I got some time to play against them the last couple of years (while with Washington). I am familiar with their scheme, how they like to do things. I feel like I am prepared to play."
Haskins has done what he has needed to do to secure that spot, going 28 of 42 in the preseason for 271 yards and a touchdown to likely beat out Josh Dobbs for that No. 3 spot on the Steelers' roster.
Friday night in Carolina, he'll get a chance to start another game, once again against that same Panthers team that he faced less than a year ago when the Steelers finish off their preseason schedule at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
"From what I understand, Carolina is going to play their regulars quite a bit, so there will be no speculation," Mike Tomlin said Wednesday. "Those guys will get a chance to pit their skills and preparedness and techniques against varsity, so it’s an exciting opportunity. We’re going to start Dwayne at quarterback. It’s about giving him an opportunity against Carolina’s first group."
He won't be out there with a full compliment of first-team players, but there should be enough for Haskins to have success if he plays well.
Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph, the Steelers' top two quarterbacks, will not play in this game, which will give the former Ohio State star perhaps his most reps of this preseason.
Roethlisberger started the team's win last week against the Lions in his only action of this preseason, completing 8 of 10 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, while Rudolph started the team's first two preseason games. Rudolph finishes the preseason with 27 completions on 36 attempts for 299 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
The top two spots are all but secured, and it seems unlikely that Dobbs unseats Haskins for the third spot. The No. 3 quarterback seems unlikely to see any action in the regular season unless Roethlisberger would miss a considerable amount of time.
So this could be Haskins' last chance to play for a while.
"I’m just interested in seeing him play more," Tomlin said of what he wants to see of Haskins. "This process is fair in that everyone gets an opportunity to show their skillset and we work hard to get to know them. He’s new to us and so, some additional reps and exposure are good for us to get to know him."
But make no mistake about it, while Carolina will be playing the majority of its starters, Tomlin has no interest in doing the same. He wants to see some guys fighting for roster spots or carving out roles to perform against another team's starters.
"It’s another opportunity for our offensive line to gain cohesion," Tomlin said. "Many of those guys will play. We’re excited about getting Benny Snell back. He’s missed some time due to injury. He’ll get an opportunity, particularly in the early stages of the game to do the things that feature runners do and prove his health. On the defensive side of things, we’re excited about giving Tre Norwood some opportunities to play at nickel. He’s focused exclusively at safety for the better part of this process, but he’s been training and learning nickel the whole time."
Antoine Brooks, who had been listed atop the team's depth chart at the nickel corner spot, was waived/injured Tuesday.
