Will Howard Could Be Fighting For Roster Spot With Steelers

Will Howard is facing a ton of pressure to prove himself entering his second year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nov 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (18) warms up before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Will Howard could be in a tough spot in terms of his standing within the Pittsburgh Steelers' organization after they selected Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Appearing on the DVE Morning Show with Randy Baumann, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac raised some concerns about Howard due to the fact that he finds it hard to believe the Steelers would enter the year with two inexperienced backups behind Aaron Rodgers should the four-time MVP return to the team.

"I don't think there's any question they still want to take a look at [Howard]," Dulac said. "Their feeling was they were only going to take a quarterback if they felt he had a higher upside than Will Howard. Well, apparently they think that with Drew Allar.

"So, would they go into a season with Aaron Rodgers, if he ever comes, and two rookies, effectively, as backups? I doubt it. I think it makes it a little bit more difficult for [Howard] I don't see them going into a season with two guys who have never played an NFL game as backups."

Dec 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (18) warms up before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Is Howard's Back Up Against the Wall?

At the moment, Pittsburgh has three quarterbacks under contract for the 2026 campaign in Howard, Allar and Mason Rudolph.

If, and when, Rodgers re-signs, the Steelers would likely have a roster crunch at the position, with Rudolph being the obvious man out in that situation.

Based on Dulac's comments, though, Pittsburgh might not be keen on the idea of having two raw signal caller prospects who still need more time to refine their games be the only tertiary options behind Rodgers at 42-years-old.

In that case, maybe Rudolph's spot on the depth chart is safer than it initially appeared, and the opposite could be said for Howard.

Head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio have both been complementary of Howard, and it seems the 2025 sixth-round pick had a nice showing while splitting first-team reps with Rudolph during the team's three-day voluntary minicamp.

The reality of the situation, though, is that Allar was essentially hand-picked by the new staff while Howard is a holdover. That doesn't mean the former is the automatic favorite to beat out the latter, but it's just another factor worth considering moving forward this offseason.

What is working in Howard's favor, though, is the fact that he has a higher floor than Allar due to his pocket presence and mobility, as well as simply having more experience at the NFL level.

Allar does carry more upside because of his raw arm talent, however, and as a third-rounder, he carries more pedigree and higher expectations than Howard does as a former Day 3 pick.

It's now on Howard to continue building his case as the better candidate behind center over Allar, and he's facing plenty of pressure to prove himself.

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