Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died Saturday morning after he was hit by a vehicle in South Florida, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. He was 24.
The Steelers confirmed Haskins' passing.
"I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins," Pittsburgh head 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."
Haskins was "walking on a limited access facility (highway/expressway) for unknown reasons" attempting to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595 when he was struck by a dump truck, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. Haskins was pronounced dead on the scene, per the report.
A standout at Ohio State, Haskins set numerous school records for the Buckeyes as a redshirt sophomore in 2018, including single-season marks for passing yards (4,831) and touchdowns (50). He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, was named third-team AP All-American, finished third in Heisman Trophy voting and was named Rose Bowl MVP after leading the Buckeyes to a 28-23 victory over the Washington Huskies.
Haskins chose to forego his remaining years of eligibility and enter the 2019 NFL Draft. The quarterback was selected 15th overall by Washington, the third signal-caller taken behind Kyler Murray (No. 1 overall) and Daniel Jones (No. 6). Haskins began his rookie season behind QB Case Keenum, but started seven games down the back stretch of the campaign. Haskins finished Year 1 with a 2-5 mark as a starter, completing 119 of 203 attempts (58.6%) for 1,365 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine total games played.
Haskins entered the 2020 campaign as Washington's starter and one of the club's captains, but fell out of favor with the coaching staff and organization for on- and off-field reasons. After Washington got off to a 1-3 start, Haskins was benched in favor of Kyle Allen. He was also fined twice for breaking the NFL's COVID-19 protocols, the latter of which came in December after Haskins attended a party without wearing a face mask; the QB was fined $40,000 for the incident and stripped of his captaincy.
The QB continued to split snaps with Allen, Alex Smith and Taylor Heinicke until Dec. 28, 2020, when he was released by the club just 20 months after his draft selection.
In all, Haskins went 3-10 in 13 starts for Washington, throwing for 2,804 yards, 12 TDs and 14 INTs in 16 total games played.
Haskins was signed to a reserve/futures contract by the Pittsburgh Steelers in January 2021 and spent the following season as a backup QB behind Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. He was inactive for all but one game in 2021. The Steelers placed an original-round RFA tender on Haskins last month.
Heading into the 2022 season, Haskins was slated to compete in a quarterback room that includes Rudolph and the newly signed Mitchell Trubisky.
