Haskins had abandoned his car on a south Florida highway and was walking along the road when he was hit and killed by a dump truck.
The 24-year-old Haskins was the controversial first-round (15th overall) pick by Washington in 2018 after what is perhaps the greatest passing season in Ohio State history.
Washington's front office and coaching staff were reported to have fought against the selection of Haskins but Haskins's local background won over Washington owner Dan Snyder with Snyder overruling his football people and demanding the selection of Haskins.
Haskins started in only one of his three seasons with Ohio State and beat out Joe Burrow for the starting position in 2018 and it resulted in Burrow's transfer to LSU.
Haskins responded with a season for the record books where he set twenty-eight school records and three Big Ten single-season records, including passing yards, total offensive yards, and touchdown passes.
Haskins's season earned him a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist and he would finish the year with MVP performances in both the Big Ten championship win over Northwestern (499 yards and five touchdowns) and Ohio State's Rose Bowl win over Washington ( 251 yards and three touchdowns).
Haskins was a polarizing prospect entering the 2019 draft as he only played in one season at Ohio State and even those that liked Haskins as a prospect thought that he was going to need at least a season or two of development time to be an NFL starting level quarterback.
Instead, Washington rushed Haskins into the starting lineup, starting seven games as a rookie and opening the season for a month of starts before being benched and then released later in the season.
Haskins cleared waivers and was signed by Pittsburgh after the season, where he spent the 2021 season with the Steelers but did not see action.
Pittsburgh did resign Haskins to a one-year contract for 2022 and he was expected to compete in training camp for the open Steelers starting spot with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.
Haskins has to be considered a bust for Washington, although it doesn't take a great football mind to see that Washington did about everything opposite from giving Haskins his best chance to succeed.
Still, Haskins was reported to have been less than diligent in his preparation for games and in practice and spent more time with his friends in the area than anything football related, so it was pretty clear that even if Haskins was to have a good NFL career that his hometown was the worst place for him to play.
So, while there is loads to blame to pass around and plenty of blame for Haskins himself, just as much needs to go to Dan Snyder for insisting on the selection of Haskins considering the potential for distractions.
Dwayne Haskins was still only twenty-four years old and stranger things than Haskins turning his career have happened before in football, so he still had a chance to have a long career in the game as unlikely as it seemed after his release from Washington.
It's always sad to see potential go unfulfilled.
It's even sadder to see it end in this manner.
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