QB Dwayne Haskins to finish first half when Steelers open preseason in Hall of Fame Game

Mason Rudolph will start at quarterback Thursday when the Pittsburgh Steelers open the preseason against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, but former first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins will close out the first half in his debut with his new team.

Coach Mike Tomlin didn’t define roles for his quarterbacks — or any players at other positions — on Wednesday other than to acknowledge that Haskins will play at least the final two minutes of the first half and Joshua Dobbs will finish the game.

Haskins and Dobbs are competing to be the No. 3 quarterback behind Rudolph and starter Ben Roethlisberger, who is among a handful of veterans that will not play Thursday night.

The Steelers signed Haskins, the No. 15 overall pick of Washington in 2019, in January.

“We made the decision today in anticipating that Dwayne will finish the first half and Dobbs will finish the game,” Tomlin said Wednesday. “We’re going to work the two-minute (offense) today in two sets, and those are the quarterbacks who could be in the game at those moments.

Tomlin said members of the team’s rookie class will play against the Cowboys as well the ensuing three games on the preseason schedule. That goes for first-round pick Najee Harris, who has been working at first-team running back during training camp, tight end Pat Freiermuth and center Kendrick Green, who also has taken the bulk of the first-team snaps.

“Man, he needs the process of game preparation and then ultimately play,” Tomlin said about Harris. “We have four opportunities for him to do that, and we’re going to make sure he participates in all four of those processes. We’ll determine how much he plays, but preparation to play is something all of those young guys need regardless of their potential roles for us when the regular season starts.”

After the entire 2020 preseason was wiped out because of the coronavirus pandemic, Tomlin said the game Thursday will be a “great litmus” in his evaluation of players competing to earn spots on the 53-man roster.

“We’re at a point in the process where we’ve been competing Steelers vs. Steelers, and it’s going to be great to see some new people,” he said. “I’m excited about watching them in in-game circumstances and watching people be able to think and adjust on their feet.”

Tomlin said the Steelers will stick to basic formations and play calls for the preseason opener.

“The most important thing is to see who can play football and how well people can communicate,” he said.

In addition to Roethlisberger, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and cornerback Joe Haden will be withheld from the game. Other players not expected to see action are tight end Eric Ebron, defensive end Stephon Tuitt, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and offensive linemen Chuks Okorafor and Kevin Dotson.