Despite Joe Theismann giving his blessing for Dwayne Haskins to wear his iconic No. 7 jersey, there was not much of a relationship beyond that between the two.
Appearing on 106.7 the Fan with Grant Paulsen, Theismann revealed Haskins hasn’t returned any of his calls this year.
“When [Haskins] got here, we had conversations and then — all of a sudden – i haven’t spoken to him all this year,” Theismann said. “I did reach out at different times just to see how he was doing, send my best to him and wish him luck and I never really got a response. And so I just figured he was going to go on and do what he wanted to do and [I’d] leave him alone.”
Shortly after Haskins was taken 15th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, the conversation shifted to what jersey number he would wear? He wore No. 7 at Bullis High School in Potomac, Maryland and in college at Ohio State.
Washington doesn’t routinely retire numbers officially, however, the No. 7 is one of the few held out of rotation due to the legacy Theismann with the franchise. Theismann quarterbacked Washington to a Super Bowl win in two appearances, and was named the 1983 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year before his devastating career-ending leg injury in 1985.
Initially, there was a great deal of anticipation that Haskins could build a similar resume with Washington.
After a conversation with him, Theismann gave his blessing to allow Haskins to wear the number.
The promise of Haskins being the second-coming of Theismann quickly disappeared with his struggles on the field and concerns of his character, even as a rookie. Still, after a coaching change this offseason from Jay Gruden to Ron Rivera, Haskins was tabbed the starting quarterback at the beginning of the year.
But, his struggles both on the field and off it continued, leading to multiple benching, two fines, and his captaincy stripped. Ultimately, Rivera had enough and waived Haskins on Monday, less than two seasons after being drafted.
It’s unclear why Haskins didn’t answer Theismann’s attempts to reach out. Given the struggles of this year, he could have used some sound advice from the original No. 7.
“I’m not going to badger him,” Theismann added.
Then again, Haskins also had another Washington Super Bowl-winning QB, Doug Williams, in the building to lean on. But in the end, things didn’t work out. After being fined a second time for attending a party with strippers without a mask, Haskins said he needed to get out his own way. Hopefully, he heeds his own advice moving forward in his career.
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