Dwayne Haskins and the Buccaneers: Great fit or mistake?

Bad situations do not equal a bad quarterback

The modern NFL is growing far too accustomed to bailing on young quarterbacks before they get a real chance to succeed. Josh Rosen has become the poster child for a scenario like this, where he was drafted to a dysfunctional franchise, struggled, and then the team moved on before he ever had a chance to prove himself.

Dwayne Haskins has almost experienced the exact same thing. The only difference is that the new coaching regime that didn’t want him held on to him for an extra season before cutting bait. Everyone knew that Haskins wasn’t Ron Rivera‘s choice at quarterback from day one, so this departure was always expected.

So Haskins, on a bad team with a coach that had no plan to keep him down the road, struggled. How does this come as a surprise? How does anyone see this as a valid way to evaluate Haskins as a quarterback?

Haskins could be as bad as his product has shown so far, but no one has any way of knowing this with a 13-game sample size, two head coaches, and a horrific supporting cast. No amount of time spent around football, analytics, or the eye test indicates that Haskins is a lost cause, and no player in a situation like that should ever receive that treatment either.

Haskins has made numerous football mistakes during his time in Washington, but this is par for the course with young quarterbacks in tough situations. Perhaps a year spent with a consistent offense and a better overall team could help get Haskins back on track and into a position to compete for a starting job down the road.