3 players the Washington Commanders gave up on way too early

Looking into the offseason, it’s a time of reflection on the history of a franchise and the Washington Commanders have plenty of history to review. Especially when it comes to players that they’ve given up on too soon.

There are at least three players that the franchise gave up on too early on in their respective careers. The reasons why it was too early to give up on these players vary, but Washington gave up too early regardless.

3 players the Washington Commanders gave up on way too early: Dwayne Haskins

Let’s start with the most recent example, Dwayne Haskins. The whole situation surrounding Haskins put him at a disadvantage from the start. He was drafted 15th overall in the 2019 draft at a time when the franchise was in turmoil.

Former head coach Jay Gruden was on the hot seat and was in his last offseason as the then-Washington Redskins head coach. Gruden was trying to save his job and playing a rookie with little college experience was against his best interest. It also didn’t help that selecting Haskins felt like a Dan Snyder move.

Haskins need at minimum a season if not more sitting on the bench and he ended up starting seven games where he went 2-5. He also started six games the next year where he went 1-5. It didn’t help that Haskins’ struggled off the field being in his hometown, but the franchise gave up on the then 23-year-old too early.

In 10 games, Haskins had 2,804 yards passing, 60.1 percent completion percentage, 12 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. The stats aren’t impressive but he did show flashes of real potential and to be fair to him, the roster wasn’t constructed great at that point.

There was a chance to develop him properly if the club was patient. He ended up joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he never played a snap due to his untimely passing in a vehicular-related accident.