Nearly six months after being released by the Washington Football Team, Dwayne Haskins is just happy to be in Pittsburgh, a place where he feels wanted.
In speaking to reporters for the first time since his December release, Haskins, who was scooped up by the Steelers in January after clearing waivers, admits the experience was "for sure humbling."
"I don't even want to get into it as far as how everything went down," Haskins said Thursday, "and even before like deadlines and stuff like that during the season. I just wanted to be in a place where I felt like I was wanted and I feel like I'm wanted here, so I'm just thankful for the opportunity to be somewhere where I just feel I can be myself, I can play ball and not have to worry about all the other stuff."
Haskins compared his time in Washington, where he was once thought to be the future at quarterback as the 15th overall pick in 2019, to moving on from a relationship with an ex-partner. "It's just in the past," he said. "You have a relationship with your ex and kind of want to leave it there. You want to move on and be with the new person and enjoy who you're with and try to let that past go."
Haskins wasn't surprised he was released, acknowledging he was drafted under the previous coaching staff, which may have made him more expendable in Washington head coach Ron Rivera's eyes.
"I wouldn't necessarily say I was surprised. It was just a part of the business," he said. "I wasn't necessarily the people that were brought in by the new coaching staff, and understanding that this is a business and realizing that as the season went on, things weren't going the way that we both wanted it to."
"Being able to be here now in this spot, we can work hard and be able to figure things out together," he added. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity Washington gave me. But it wasn't completely surprising, but it was also definitely unfortunate, to be able to be released the way that I was."
Now with a second chance to prove himself as an NFL quarterback, Haskins seems genuinely grateful for his new opportunity with the Steelers.
"Just coming here to Pittsburgh, I just wanted to prove to the coaching staff and my teammates how much I love football," he said. "And I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here and showing them that my mind is in the right place, and I'm willing to work to be able to show my talents and be able to work and earn a spot here."
"I tried the best that I could [in Washington] and it just didn't work out the way that I wanted it to," he said, "but I'm just grateful to be here in Pittsburgh and just thankful for the opportunity to just have another shot."
There is some thought that Haskins could have fallen into the perfect situation in Pittsburgh, where he can continue to grow quietly and perhaps one day take over for Ben Roethlisberger, who just turned 39 in March. But Haskins isn't putting the cart before the horse. His first task is to make the Steelers' final roster.
"My expectations here is to to make everyone who decided to take a chance on me look good, and just work as hard as I possibly can and let my work speak for itself," Haskins said. "And of course I want to be able to take after Big Ben and stuff like that, but that comes in due time."
"Just being able to do everything I need to do on a day-to-day basis," he continued. "They expect a lot out of me as far as just being prepared and being the best version of myself. That's what they pretty much want from me, and allowing that to just speak for itself."
