Dwayne Haskins

Despite his high school and college jersey number of 7 being unofficially retired by the Redskins in honor of quarterback Joe Theismann, whose career ended with a leg injury in 1985, Haskins requested and was granted permission from him to wear it.

Dwayne Haskins Jr. (May 3, 1997 – April 9, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons.

He played college football at Ohio State University, where he set the Big Ten Conference records for single-season passing yards and passing touchdowns as a sophomore.

His success earned him the Sammy Baugh Trophy and Kellen Moore Award, along with several conference honors.

There, he attended and played football at Bullis School from 2013 to 2016, where he passed for 5,308 yards and 54 touchdowns.

He originally committed to the University of Maryland over Rutgers University to play college football, but later decided to attend Ohio State University after Maryland football coach Randy Edsall was fired mid-season.

Haskins redshirted his first year with the Buckeyes in 2016.

The following year, he was the backup to J. T. Barrett.

He finished the season completing 40 of 57 passes for 565 yards and four touchdowns.

Haskins then went on to have a record-setting campaign in his sophomore season in 2018, which was his lone starting season at the school.

He claimed the single-season passing and touchdown records for Ohio State and the Big Ten by eclipsing the 4,000-passing yards mark and throwing 50 touchdowns, making him just one of eight NCAA quarterbacks to ever achieve the latter in a single season.

Additionally, he claimed school records in total offense in a season (4,900+ yards), total offensive yards in a game (477) and total passing yards in a game (470).

In all 12 of his starts, he threw for more than 225 passing yards, including eight games of more than 300 yards, and four games of more than 400.

He threw for 499 yards and five touchdowns in the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game, while throwing three touchdowns in the 2019 Rose Bowl, winning the MVP award in both games for his performance.

His performance also earned him first-team All–Big Ten honors, as well as six Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards, the Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year, the Griese–Brees Quarterback of the Year, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, and the Male Ohio State Athlete of the Year awards.

He was also named as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Haskins was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but was released after less than two seasons due to inconsistent play and questions over his work ethic.

He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021 and served as a backup until his death the following off-season when he was fatally struck by a vehicle.

Born in Highland Park, New Jersey, Haskins and his family moved to Potomac, Maryland, when he was in the ninth grade.

In January 2019, Haskins announced that he would forgo his remaining two years of college football and enter the 2019 NFL Draft.

As a student, he majored in journalism.

Haskins was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 15th overall.

Haskins signed his four-year rookie contract on May 9, 2019, worth $14.37 million, including an $8.47 million signing bonus.

Haskins saw his first action with the team in a Week 4 game against the New York Giants in relief of Case Keenum, who was benched for poor performance.

In the game, Haskins also struggled, throwing for 107 yards and three interceptions, including a pick-six, as the Redskins lost 24–3.

During a Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Haskins again replaced Keenum, who left the game due to a concussion.

He finished the game with 33 passing yards and an interception as the Redskins lost 19–9.

The following week Haskins made his first career start against the Buffalo Bills, finishing with 144 passing yards as the team lost 24–9.

Haskins' first win as a starter came during Week 12 against the Detroit Lions, where he finished with 156 passing yards, 28 rushing yards, and an interception in the 19–16 victory.

For his efforts, he was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.

In Week 16 against the Giants, Haskins threw for 133 yards and two touchdowns before being carted off the field due to an ankle injury suffered on the first play of the third quarter, which also made him miss the following week's game.

Prior to the 2020 season, Haskins lost around seven-percent in total body fat and was named the starter and one of the team captains.

In a Week 3 loss against the Cleveland Browns, Haskins threw three interceptions and lost a fumble.

The following week against the Baltimore Ravens, he threw for a career-high 314 yards in another loss.

Haskins was benched in favor of Kyle Allen prior to the Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Rams due to coaches being unimpressed with his work ethic and performance.

In October 2020, he was fined US$4,833 for breaking league COVID-19 protocols after making a reservation for a family friend at the team hotel in New York prior to a game against the Giants.

Haskins remained as the team's backup until the Week 14 game against the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in the second half after Alex Smith left the game due to a calf strain.

He then started the following week's game against the Seattle Seahawks because Smith had yet to recover from his injury.

In the game, Haskins threw for 295 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions during a 20–15 loss.

Following the game, Haskins was photographed attending his girlfriend's birthday party without wearing a face mask.