One of the biggest was the Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins has been able to step up during this unprecedented offseason is by becoming a leader for his team. While his rookie season may not have gone as planned, and he routinely was called immature as people said that he wasn’t ready for NFL-levels of play, Haskins has taken it upon himself to be better, and it started with his fitness.
“I’ve always been told that losing weight is a mind game. You change your mind, you change your body,” said NFL Network’s Nate Burleson. “It seems right now, he has changed his mind. He’s changed his mind on his approach, and how he wants to be perceived which is a big deal.”
"If he's as good on the field as he is out in the community, he's got big plans."
Will @dh_simba7 offseason growth translate to success in year two?
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— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) June 18, 2020
It’s encouraging for fans of the Redskins to see Haskins taking action and making a change to get better, but what’s more encouraging is that his action will likely inspire change around him. With the QB getting to work, as a leader of the team, he will inspire change and hard work around him.
“When the team hears a young quarterback’s voice, everybody perks up. I know that that’s like,” said Burleson, who played for 10 years as a WR in the NFL. “I know what it’s like for a young QB to talk in a meeting room and then all of us are looking at each other like, ‘look at this guy. Look who grew some hair on his chest.'”
“And then not to mention, then you see him. You see him redefining himself; recreating himself. … When you see your quarterback changing his body, you know what that does to everybody else? That applies pressure. Because if you’re sitting back casual, and you come back in the exact same guy you were the year before, but your quarterback is a completely different man, you didn’t follow the leader. So I love the fact that Dwayne Haskins is doing this because he understands that the pressure is on.”
The pressure is on, and a lot of people are waiting to write him off as a bust. We’ll see what Haskins has to say to that.
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