Ben Roethlisberger Howard Allar
Ben Roethlisberger Howard Allar
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been searching for their next franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired. On Thursday, he got to watch two young quarterbacks looking to take that title: Will Howard and Drew Allar.
Each got a handful of drives, and both were impressive in limited reps. Roethlisberger really liked what he saw from Howard, who entered the game first.
“I was pleased with what I saw. I thought his pocket movement was really good; I thought he got rid of the ball when he had to,” Roethlisberger said Friday on his Footbahlin podcast. “He was very efficient, did exactly what you were hoping for… He more than put his hat in the ring, his name in the hat, whatever you want to say, for QB2. He’s like, ‘I’m here. I’m standing here; y’all need to consider me with Mason. I would take some reps away from Mason.”
Roethlisberger has been Howard’s fan for a long time. It’s hard not to be excited about how Howard looked, especially since it was his first time taking snaps in an actual game since his final season at Ohio State.
Howard’s first drive was a little rocky, and the offensive line didn’t give him ample protection. But he later took over a two-minute drill and performed very well. Howard made a big fourth-down throw to Ben Skowronek and hit Robert Tonyan on a couple passes in a row. The final was a nice layered throw over the middle of the field that fell just inches short of the end zone.
All-22 & EZ looks at Will Howard MOF to Robert Tonyan. Had field safety in conflict. Nice step up in pocket. #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/p6ivyN95Os
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 14, 2026
Rudolph has held the backup role through training camp, but Roethlisberger wants Howard to start taking some more of those reps. For what it’s worth, Rudolph isn’t getting an abundance of them. Howard took plenty of snaps during spring practices, and Mike McCarthy has mentioned Rudolph’s reps being limited during camp.
Howard wasn’t the only quarterback to impress. Roethlisberger also liked what he saw from Drew Allar.
“I feel the same way about Drew. Like, I want him to get more reps… I was pleasantly surprised,” Roethlisberger said. “I thought he was super consistent. Just like Will, he made good decisions with the ball and didn’t turn the ball over.”
For as much praise as Howard gets, Allar deserves his as well. He finished out the second half and looked very impressive. Allar hit Kaden Wetjen on a slant on his very first pass attempt, which the latter took for 74 yards. His three scoring drives ended with a rushing touchdown of his own, as well as passing touchdowns to Wetjen and Nowakowski.
Roethlisberger would consider giving one of Howard or Allar the starting nod during one of the last two preseason games.
“If Aaron’s not gonna play again, I would strongly consider starting Will or Drew,” Roethlisberger said.
If Rodgers is going to play in the preseason, one would figure it’s against New York next week. However, both Howard and Allar should be getting plenty of looks during the last two preseason matchups. Both of them played well enough on Thursday to deserve more chances, especially as Howard looks to fight his way onto the roster.
It has only been one preseason game. Both Howard and Allar will need to repeat their performances to keep the hype train rolling. But Roethlisberger loves what he has seen so far.