Getty The Steelers are offering Dwayne Haskins a restricted free agent tender.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a decision on one of their quarterbacks for the 2022 season.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers are placing a restricted free agent tender on quarterback Dwayne Haskins. The move means the Steelers intend to keep the former first-round draft pick on the roster for the 2022 season.
“The Steelers have indicated to Dwayne Haskins that they plan to place a restricted free agent tender on him for 2022, per source, and Haskins expects that to be an original-round tender, paying in range of $2.5 million,” said Fowler. “Another suggestion Haskins is in QB mix in Pittsburgh.”
The 24-year-old Haskins was initially a first-round draft pick of the Washington Football Team back in 2019. However, after starting for the majority of the 2020 season, Washington released Haskins prior to the conclusion of his second season — essentially unheard of for a first-round draft pick.
Shortly following his release, Haskins signed a deal with the Steelers in January of 2021.
Haskins Likely to Remain With Steelers Entering 2022
Not only does this move indicate that the Steelers plan to bring back Haskins as the potential starter in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, it means he’s unlikely to go anywhere else. As ESPN’s Dan Graziano explains, another NFL team would have to give up their first-round draft pick in order to sign Haskins.
“This is a reason Haskins was a sneaky-upside signing for Pittsburgh,” says Graziano. “The original round tender costs roughly half of what the first-round tender would. BUT, because he was originally a first-round pick, any team wishing to sign him would have to give Steelers a first-rounder.”
A restricted free agent first-round tender works as follows, according to NFL.com.
“First-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $4.766 million or (b) 110 percent of the player’s prior-year base salary. If the player’s original team decides not to match an offer sheet signed with another team, it is entitled to a first-round draft pick from the player’s new team. Unless received two days or later prior to the NFL draft, draft compensation for each tender is due in the same league year as the offer sheet is signed.”
While Haskins does have the potential to turn his career around, no team is giving up a first-round pick for the Steelers’ third-string quarterback from the 2021 season.
ALL the latest Steelers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Steelers newsletter here!
Tomlin Speaks on Open QB Competition for 2022
Head coach Mike Tomlin spoke of the Steelers’ potential quarterback competition for the 2022 season last week, mentioning how both Haskins and Mason Rudolph will have their opportunities.
“Both guys have had their moments, but they’ll have to prove that, not only in the team development process, but through playing itself,” Tomlin said during media availability. “They are guys that started – I wouldn’t characterize them as everyday starters – and so they’ll be given an opportunity to establish themselves.
“There’s going to be a competition. There always is, but I think both guys have positioned themselves to fight that fight with what they’ve done from a work standpoint and a professionalism standpoint in 2021.”
Rudolph won the backup job over Haskins after a tight training camp battle. Due to injuries to Roethlisberger, Rudolph saw action in two games and started one of them.
While the Steelers will most certainly target a quarterback in the early rounds of the 2022 NFL draft, there’s no telling if that quarterback will be ready by the season opener. That means either Rudolph or Haskins will have the inside track to emerge as the starting quarterback for the season opener.