3 reasons why the Panthers should gamble on Dwayne Haskins
By Dean Jones
The last chance saloon factor
Dwayne Haskins will know more than anybody that his next chance in the NFL will probably be his last. He is young and made a mistake, which is fine. But teams across the league are only patient with players so long as they are producing on the field.
Something which Haskins has not done so far.
This would be the last chance saloon for the signal-caller if the Carolina Panthers decided to bring him in for OTAs and training camp. Haskins would need to display exemplary behavior both on and off the field, in addition to showing the necessary improvements under center at practice.
Haskins was not mature enough to handle the sort of pressure that came with being a first-round pick.
But it might be a little too soon to write the player off entirely.
The next few months will ultimately determine how Haskins will be remembered. Another false move or indiscretion would see his “the league done messed up” statement after he fell in the draft highlighting that he was indeed right, but it would be because the quarterback was taken too high.
Character is everything in the NFL, especially at a position of leadership that Haskins occupies. There is much work to be done from the player and the Panthers need to be absolutely sure he is ready to turn things around, especially considering the locker room mentality Matt Rhule is trying to build in Carolina.