Dwyane Haskins gets first-team reps with Steelers

Dwayne Haskins isn’t going to replace Ben Roethlisberger as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback this season. Still, after another solid preseason outing, the former Ohio State star got a few first-team reps at Steelers’ practice on Sunday.

So far, Mason Rudolph has been the clear No. 2 quarterback behind Roethlisberger, but as Pro Football Talk notes, that could change sooner rather than later.

When Roethlisberger sat out of a few two-minute situational drills during the Steelers’ practice on Sunday, it was Haskins taking the reps instead of Rudolph.

This may seem insignificant for many, but Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin has been impressed with Haskins so far.

Tomlin on Dwayne Haskins

Haskins completed 16 of 22 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown as the second quarterback into the lineup for the Steelers against the Eagles.

“I thought he was in command tonight,” Tomlin said of Haskins’ preseason performance against the Eagles. “He did a great job communicating with people, going through his progressions. There was a third-down play, third-and-8 maybe, and I saw him go through three or four reads and throw the ball over the middle of the field and converted for us. That was a snapshot of the night he had.”

It’s no secret that Tomlin has been leading the charge for Haskins since Pittsburgh signed him.

“I’ve been more concerned about Dwayne the person, kind of getting to know him and getting an understanding of what he’s been through and how that’s shaped him, affected him positively and negatively, how it’s affected the growth and development of his game,” Tomlin said of Dwayne Haskins in June. “I think, more than anything, Dwayne and I are just trying to get to know one another. I think it starts there, and then we can focus on some things relative to the game itself. I leave some of the minutia and some of the detail about his football development between him and Sully [Mike Sullivan] and [Matt] Canada. I just want to get to know the young man and help him grow in that way.”

This is a fascinating storyline to watch play out over the course of the season. If Haskins can cement his role as the Steelers’ second-string signal caller, he is one step closer to becoming a starter in the NFL once again.