'Absolutely Heartbroken': Ron Rivera Speaks on Dwayne Haskins Death

Rivera coached Haskins during the 2020 season.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 9, 2022

Former Washington Commanders quarterback Dwayne Haskins died this morning after being involved in a car accident in South Florida. He was 24 years old.

Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera released a statement following Haskins' death:

"I am absolutely heartbroken to hear the news of the passing of Dwayne Haskins Jr. Dwayne was a talented young man who had a very long life ahead of him. This is a very sad time and I am honestly at a loss for words. I know I speak for the rest of our team in saying he will be sorely missed. Our entire team is sending our heartfelt condolences and thoughts and prayers to the Haskins family at this time."

According to WPLG 10 News, the driver of a dump truck struck Haskins around 7 a.m. Saturday morning on westbound I-595 at I-95.

Before entering the NFL, Haskins played three seasons with the Ohio State Buckeyes and was the team's starting quarterback in 2018. During that season, Haskins threw for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns. Haskins was drafted with the 15th overall pick by Washington in the 2019 NFL Draft and was expected to be the team's starting quarterback of the future.

His primary target at Ohio State was Terry McLaurin, who became his NFL teammate when Washington drafted him in the third round of the same draft.

Unfortunately for Haskins, his career didn't pan out and was cut by the team just before the end of the 2020 season.

Haskins signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly after his departure from Washington and was a backup behind Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph this past season.

Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins

He was expected to compete for reps alongside Rudolph and newly-signed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky this offseason and was training with Steelers skill players down in South Florida during the offseason, but a tragic accident has cut his career and life way too short.

Published Apr 9, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.