Will Howard
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Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan addressed quarterback Will Howard at the 2026 NFL Combine on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers want Aaron Rodgers back. General manager Omar Khan said that in so many words while talking to reporters at the 2026 NFL combine on Tuesday. However, Khan also continued to hype 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard.
“We’re excited to work with Will,” Khan told reporters, via Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle. “Coach McCarthy, he’s talked about how much he liked Will coming out and him and I have spent some time watching his practice tape.
“Obviously, we didn’t have the ability to watch him in games, which would’ve been good. He got hurt in the preseason. But we watched all the practice tape and seen the progression, and there’s some exciting stuff to see.”
The Steelers grabbed Howard at No. 185 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. He fell to the sixth round after leading Ohio State to 14-2 record and the national championship his senior season.
Howard served as QB3 for the Steelers when healthy during 2025. He missed the first part of the regular season and the preseason because of a hand injury.
Steelers ‘Excited’ to Work With Will Howard
Khan used “excited” more than once when addressing how he feels about Howard in front of the media Tuesday.
“We all agree that we’re looking for that next franchise guy,” said Khan, via Steelers Now’s Chris Ward. “We’re not there yet. We may have a guy on the roster, we don’t know, in Will.
“We’re excited to work with Will. We know that it has to be addressed. We’re all looking for the same thing, we’re just not there yet.”
Unfortunately, one of the reasons the Steelers aren’t “there yet” is because Howard didn’t play any game snaps as a rookie. On August 5, Howard fractured a bone in his right hand during practice. The break, which was in his pinky finger, was a fluky occurrence that happened during a quarterback-center exchange.
Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t initially rule out Howard for the preseason. But Howard didn’t play in the exhibition campaign and started the regular season on the PUP list.
The Steelers activated Howard on November 12. That allowed him back at practice.
In Week 12, he served as Mason Rudolph’s backup when Rodgers was sidelined with a hand injury. But Howard didn’t play in that game or any other.
Steelers Want Aaron Rodgers Back
Before talking about Howard, Khan provided an update on the discussions the team has held with Rodgers the past few weeks.
“I’ve been in communication in Aaron [Rodgers],” Khan said, via Steelers insider Mark Kaboly. “I think Mike [McCarthy] has, I know Mike has also. We’ve had good communication. Honest communication, but nothing new to report.”
Khan then made clear the Steelers don’t have a definitive timeline on a potential Rodgers decision. But Khan added the quarterback shouldn’t take until June to make his 2026 decision.
Rodgers signed with the Steelers on June 5 last year.
“No deadline. All I’ll tell you guys is I don’t foresee this going like it did last year.”
Signing Rodgers would all but eliminate any chance Howard might have of competing for the Steelers starting job this offseason. But signing Rodgers doesn’t mean Khan is being insincere about his excitement on Howard.
In addition to Khan, head coach Mike McCarthy and team president Art Rooney II have voiced praise about Howard’s potential this offseason too.
At 42 years old, Rodgers is obviously a short-term solution. Rodgers could start for the Steelers again in 2026 while Howard receives another year of mentoring.
Both Howard and the Steelers could benefit greatly from preseason repetitions in August.