This Steelers-Redskins Trade for Dwayne Haskins Just Makes Sense

Fans in the Steel City have been left puzzled by the Pittsburgh Steelers' lack of urgency to improve their roster thus far in free agency.

What hasn't helped that has been the fact that every other team in their division -- the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals -- has pressed the issue and vastly improved.

With no true successor lined up in Ben Roethlisberger's shadow, we know just the thing that would ignite a spark among Steelers supporters: trade for Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

First off, Mason Rudolph and Devlin "Duck" Hodges aren't the way forward for Pittsburgh when Roethlisberger decides to hang up the cleats. He's pondered retirement before, so that could very well happen at the end of the 2020 season, which should be eventful, following his recovery.

Haskins probably wasn't ready for NFL action last year, but that didn't stop the Redskins from throwing him to the wolves without even having practiced with the first team. The Steelers would undoubtedly manage the Ohio State product properly.

Having Haskins study a year (possibly two) under a two-time champion and six-time Pro Bowler in Big Ben would do wonders for his confidence and overall potential as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Better still, Haskins and Roethlisberger seemed to have been made in the same lab. Both are stocky, mobile enough, and have hoses for right arms.

Haskins is obviously still on his rookie contract (four years, $14.42 million), so the Redskins, who are reported to not even like their 2018 first-round pick, will have to trade him for pennies on the dollar. The Steelers' third- and sixth-round draft picks in 2020 should be enough to entice Washington.

A nice baseline for this deal is the Josh Rosen trade to Miami, which cost the Dolphins a second-round pick in 2019 and a fifth in 2020. The return for Haskins should be less, as Washington is visibly down on him, and the Redskins front office hasn't proven as capable as Arizona's who just nabbed DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans in a borderline highway robbery.

It makes no sense for the Redskins to move forward with Haskins as their supposed QB of the future if they're not enthusiastic about it, and the Steelers would be wise to get Washington on the phone as soon as possible.