Joe Burrow Pays Tribute to Former Teammate Dwayne Haskins

One former Buckeyes quarterback remembers another, on the day Dwayne Haskins passed away

Competition can do funny things to people. 

Washington Commanders fans can be found loathing another human being they've never met simply because the person is wearing a blue or green logo that inspires an instinctually aggressive response. 

It can also bring people together though, like in the case of quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Dwayne Haskins. 

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Quarterback Dwayne Haskins was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by Washington in 2019

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Haskins played two years in Washington before moving on to Pittsburgh in 2021

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After losing the starting job battle at Ohio State to Haskins, quarterback Joe Burrow transferred to LSU

Haskins and Burrow were teammates in Columbus, Ohio as the two competed against - and with - each other for the team's starting quarterback job. 

A coveted position. One that comes with glory, notoriety, and more pressure than the average teenager or young man in his early 20s can typically handle. 

In that competition, the two became forever linked. 

And that link resulted in a tribute from Burrow, remembering Haskins on the day he passed away after being struck by a vehicle in south Florida where he had been training with other Steelers teammates in preparation for the 2022 NFL Season. 

"Tough to find the words… you will be missed," Burrow wrote in a tweet, accompanied by a video of the two meeting for a brotherly embrace at midfield. 

Burrow in his Bengals uniform, and Haskins in Steelers gear. Rivals again, and brothers forever. 

Maybe it's a Buckeye thing, or a football thing, or maybe even a bond between two men who played the same position and felt the same burn that comes from being under the intense light of the quarterback microscope. 

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After two years with LSU, Burrow - like Haskins - became a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, selected No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020

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Haskins and Burrow embrace prior to a contest between the Washington Football Team and Cincinnati Bengals in 2020

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Burrow suffered a left knee injury in the same game, and Buckeye teammates like Haskins (7) and Chase Young were there to console him before being carted off the field

Whatever it is can be felt in those nine words, just as it could be felt when Haskins came to Burrow's side as his rookie season with the Bengals was being cut short due to a knee injury suffered against the Washington Football Team in 2020. 

And Haskins wasn't the only other Buckeye there. Both Chase Young and Terry McLaurin made sure to give their former teammate a sign of love and support. 

Haskins' death has certainly brought out a mixed bag of reactions, reviews, and responses. 

But this one by Burrow, and by so many others who knew Haskins beyond the logos and stats, shows the more human side of the business that is football. 

A side we all lose sight of, too often.