Players across the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster are using the next couple of weeks to rest before things ramp up for the long haul in late July. For a couple of players, this is the last break before an intense training camp battle. That’s a situation Will Howard is in, as he hopes to prove himself compared to the likes of Drew Allar and Mason Rudolph.
“Will Howard has the benefit of the people in the front office now seeing him for the last 14 to 15 months. So, it’s not a great situation for him because Mike McCarthy came in. New coach, been on the job, what, five months? Drafted a quarterback in the third round,” beat writer Ray Fittipaldo said Tuesday via Steelers Collective. “There’s a little window there, where Mike McCarthy has been able to evaluate both Will Howard and Drew Allar. But I don’t think he could feel great about it.”
Howard is part of a four-man quarterback room, which will likely be trimmed to three once September arrives. Unfortunately for him, he’s not part of the two who figure to be automatically safe. With this year’s starter and third-round pick both securing spots, Howard is going to have to beat Rudolph out for the QB3 role.
The good news is that it seems he’ll have every opportunity to do so. With Rudolph as proven as he is, Howard got the bulk of reps during OTAs and minicamp. It should be the same come training camp and the preseason games, when McCarthy will want to see Howard and Allar as much as possible.
Thus, as long as Howard plays well, his spot on the roster should be safe. So far, reporting suggests he had a good slate of offseason workouts. But he’s not quite running away from the rest of the competition yet.
“He’s got a leg up on the competition. But I don’t think it’s a huge leg,” Fittipaldo said.
Training camp is when the real work begins. That, along with the preseason, will be the deciding factor between Howard and Rudolph as roster cuts take place. But considering the battle for the starting role in 2027, Howard has a whole different fight on his hands with Allar. It doesn’t seem likely either will play significant snaps in 2026. But with a good year of development in the QB2 role, Howard can give himself an advantage.
However, McCarthy chose Allar as soon as the third round for a reason. The potential Allar brings is immense, and the Steelers could be in play for a quarterback in the 2027 draft, or even Brendan Sorsby this July. Either way, it is a tough situation for Howard. But his future rests in his own performance, which begins in Latrobe in late July.
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