NFL Notes: Dwayne Haskins, Marvin Jones, J.J. Watt

Dwayne Haskins

• Per Fansided’s Matt Lombardo, an AFC college scouting director says former Washington QB Dwayne Haskins was never really as highly regarded by a lot of teams as he was in the media before being a first-round pick in 2019: “People around the league let the hype train run loose prior to last year’s draft. Very few people around this league thought he was very good at all.”
• Another NFC personnel executive expects Haskins to get a few more chances to avoid washing out of the league: “He’s so damn young. It’s not that he’s hurting other people, he’s just hurting himself….he’s not a drug user, he’s not out there beating women, hurting people or anything like that, he’s just an idiot. He’s a young, immature idiot, but he has a lot of arm-talent.”
• Haskins and his agent, David Mulugheta, have decided to mutually part ways, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 
• Mulugheta tweeted a statement saying: “Dwayne is a great young man with whom I wish I could have continued to work with. Yet the decision was made that a fresh start would be in Dwayne’s best interest. I wish him nothing but success moving forward and will continue to root for him.”
• Washington’s coaching staff had Haskins rated as a second or third-round pick going into the 2019 draft but was overruled by owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen. (Ben Standig)

Marvin Jones

Lions’ impending free-agent WR Marvin Jones said he is eager to test the open market this offseason. 

“The free-agent process is always very exciting, and it’s something that I’m excited about,” Jones said, via Kyle Meinke of MLive. “But you never know. We’ll have to see. We’ll see in March.”

Jones doesn’t think he’s taken a step back in his NFL career now that he is approaching 31-years old in March. 

“I don’t know what it is about everybody and 30, but, like, I mean, you guys saw me when I was 30 in camp, and nobody could stop me,” Jones said. “I’m going to be the same guy (on the field), and if not, you won’t see me. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. With what I’ve been through these past weeks, I think I’ve proven my worth, know what I’m saying? And I think in a few months you guys will see that reflected.”

Jones said he signed on with the Lions as an unrestricted free-agent in 2016 because he wanted to help a team “get over the hump.” 

“I think before, my priorities were basically to go somewhere where there was a team that I could help get over the hump,” Jones said. “And I feel like early on, I was an aid in doing that, as well as getting opportunities to get some throws my way and prove that I’m one of the good ones in the league, which I think I’ve done.”

However, Jones indicated that his decision-making process this offseason will likely be different than his mindset in 2016, meaning he could prioritize signing with a contending team. 

“Obviously, this process might be different than it was when I got my (first free-agent) contract, but I think it’s still pretty much the same. You look at different teams, you look at the needs of the teams. Maybe this time around you look for different things in terms of what you want and how I want to finish my career.”

J.J. Watt

Texans DL J.J. Watt faces an uncertain future in Houston. 2020 has been tough on Watt and as he nears the end of his career the thought is he might be ready for a fresh start to chase a championship. Watt said this week there are no guarantees, both in his contract and his future with the Texans. 

“There’s a whole lot of unknowns, so we’ll see what happens,” Watt said via the Athletic’s Aaron Reiss. “I don’t have any guarantees left in my contract, so something’s gotta happen one way or another.”