Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins dies in auto accident

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed Saturday when he was hit by a dump truck as he was strolling on a South Florida freeway.

Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Indiana Miranda verified the incident that happened on westbound Interstate 595 about 6:30 a.m. Haskins was pronounced lifeless at the scene.

Miranda did not say why the 24-12 months-aged Haskins was on the freeway at the time. The incident brought about the freeway to be shut down for various hours.

“He was just going for walks on the freeway and obtained hit,” Miranda explained to the Associated Press.

Haskins’ dying sparked an outpouring of grief from various corners of the NFL, especially with his previous teammates with the Steelers and Washington Commanders.

“I am devastated and at a reduction for terms with the regrettable passing of Dwayne Haskins,” Steelers mentor Mike Tomlin stated. “He quickly became section of our Steelers spouse and children upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was 1 of our toughest personnel, both equally on the industry and in our neighborhood. Dwayne was a excellent teammate, but even far more so a tremendous pal to so a lot of. I am truly heartbroken.

“Our ideas and prayers are with his spouse, Kalabrya, and his full loved ones for the duration of this tough time.”

The 24-year-previous Haskins was a first-spherical draft option of Washington in 2019 and commenced seven games, going 2-5 as a rookie. The previous Ohio State star was 1-5 in six starts the upcoming period for the crew, then was unveiled.

Washington mentor Ron Rivera stated he was “absolutely heartbroken” to study of Haskins’ demise.

“Dwayne was a proficient young male who experienced a prolonged existence forward of him,” Rivera claimed in a launch. “This is a really unfortunate time and I am truthfully at a loss for words and phrases. I know I discuss for the relaxation of our team in expressing he will be sorely skipped. Our total team is sending our heartfelt condolences and ideas and prayers to the Haskins relatives at this time.”

Ohio State, Haskins’ alma mater, posted a photo of him on its Twitter feed. It go through: “Leader. Legend. Eternally a Buckeye.“

The Steelers gave Haskins a possibility to resurrect his career in January 2021 when they signed him a month after becoming launched by Washington. Humbled, Haskins stressed he was keen to get the job done tricky and take up as substantially as he could from Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. He created the lower but dressed only the moment for a sport, serving as the backup in a tie with Detroit just after Roethlisberger was positioned into the COVID-19 protocol the evening in advance of the sport.

“The world misplaced a wonderful particular person these days,” Steelers star T.J. Watt posted on Twitter. “When Dwayne initially walked into the locker home I could convey to he was an upbeat guy. He was normally building people today smile, never ever using daily life for granted.”

Tomlin and general supervisor Kevin Colbert both praised Haskins for his improvement because signing up for the crew, and the Steelers re-signed him to a one particular-year offer as a restricted totally free agent in March. He was predicted to compete with Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky for a spot.

“We’re psyched to see what Dwayne can give, both from competitiveness, or possibly he evolves as a starter,” Colbert stated in January.

Haskins appeared to be working out in South Florida this week with various teammates, such as Trubisky, operating back Najee Harris and restricted conclusion Pat Freiermuth.

“Devastated,” Rudolph claimed on social media.