Sep 12, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool (11) looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Steelers' Chase Claypool: 'I feel like I failed' Dwayne Haskins

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 6/20/22

The NFL community was shocked and saddened to learn that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died after he was struck by a dump truck on an interstate in Florida on April 9. Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN, it was later discovered that Haskins was legally drunk and had drugs in his system at the time of his passing.

Pittsburgh wide receiver Chase Claypool took to Twitter to publicly mourn the death of his teammate and share what he called "a moment of vulnerability" that April day:

I spent your final moments with you and I can’t help but think about how selfless you were in those moments. All you cared about was making sure that everyone around you was okay and I can’t thank you enough for that. You are what I strive to be. #LL3
— Chase Claypool (@ChaseClaypool) April 9, 2022

-A moment of vulnerability-
The moment I realized I had lost a brother.

We are placed on this undesirable pedestal and become treated as if we are anything but human, but It’s okay to not be okay. Allow me to be the example. Love you, 3 https://t.co/3ZGehDX49H pic.twitter.com/cIUHCiPM21
— Chase Claypool (@ChaseClaypool) April 9, 2022

Claypool was a recent guest on the "I Am Athlete" podcast that features former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Adam "Pacman" Jones and LeSean "Shady" McCoy, and the 2020 second-round draft pick generated headlines by insisting he's a "top-three receiver" in the league. The 23-year-old also spoke about wishing he could've done something to prevent Haskins' death, as the two were training together before the accident.

"I feel like I failed him," Claypool said of Haskins, per Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I feel like I could have changed the outcome. That’s why it feels so heavy. And I was close. I was a minute away from stopping, essentially. From changing the outcome.

"But you can’t really beat yourself up on that. But it’s tough when you know, damn, if I was a minute quicker ... because I went back to grab him, and he wasn’t there no more. I missed him by like a minute. I was gone for a minute. Came right back."

Haskins was third on the Pittsburgh depth chart in early April before the team spent a first-round draft selection on Pittsburgh Panthers product Kenny Pickett. Free agent acquisition Mitchell Trubisky is widely considered the favorite to win the Steelers' starting job this summer over Pickett and career backup Mason Rudolph.

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