SO PAINFUL: 24-year-old NFL Quarterback Perishes After Truck Strikes Him

SO PAINFUL: 24-year-old NFL Quarterback Perishes After Truck Strikes Him

The 24 year old backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and former Ohio State star Dwayne Haskins passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

Around 6:37 a.m., Haskins was hit by a dump truck near Fort Lauderdale when he was trying to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. At the scene, they declared him dead.

“I am speechless and in shock over Dwayne Haskins’ tragic passing,” Tomlin said in a statement. After moving to Pittsburgh, he joined the Steelers family very soon and was one of our hardest workers—both on the field and in the community. Although Dwayne was a fantastic colleague, he was also a terrific friend to a huge number of people. I’m really devastated.

Selected at No. 15 overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders, Haskins had thrown for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns in his lone season as a starter at Ohio State. 2018 saw him place third in the Heisman Trophy vote, behind Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, after his team’s 13-1 record, which included a victory against Washington in the Rose Bowl. That season, he completed 70% of his throws, and given his accuracy as a pocket quarterback at 6-foot-3, the NFL was expected to choose him.

Haskins was “one of the greatest QBs in Ohio State history, but an even better son, teammate, and friend,” according to his college coach Urban Meyer, who made this statement on Twitter.

However, Haskins failed in his first two NFL seasons, starting 13 games with three victories and fourteen interceptions while throwing 12 touchdowns and fourteen picks. As a result, he was benched in favour of Alex Smith. Due to his performance and many infractions of Covid-19 regulations, the Commanders dismissed him before to the 2020 season ending.

The Commanders’ co-owners, Daniel and Tanya Snyder, released a statement in which they described their young man as “a young man with a tremendous amount of potential who had an infectious personality.”

Although Haskins did not play that season, the Steelers signed him in January 2021 as a backup. After being re-signed by the Steelers in March as a restricted free agent, Haskins was anticipated to face off against Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph for the starting position during training camp. Last week, Haskins was in Florida training with teammates. NFL players showed their support for him on social media after his passing.

Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt said on Twitter, “I could tell Dwayne was an upbeat guy when he walked in to the locker room.” He was a constant source of joy for others and never took life for granted. His influence on me is enduring.