Steelers QB
Steelers QB
In Aaron Rodgers, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their starting quarterback settled. Behind him, things are a little more up in the air. But there’s a growing sense that Pittsburgh will keep all four quarterbacks.
Mike McCarthy wouldn’t confirm as much after Thursday’s game, but it did sound like he thought all four of them deserved a roster spot. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said the Steelers must keep their two younger options.
“I think both guys (Howard and Allar) have tremendous upside in this league and for this team,” Roethlisberger said Friday on his Footbahlin podcast. “You build a team and you build the line and work that, and stick either one of these two young guys in it. Another year in this system. Another year in this league. You can be pretty successful. I’m telling you, this team can be good with either one of these two.”
Pittsburgh got a chance to evaluate Howard and Allar as much as possible during the past two games. Mason Rudolph played the first quarter of the first preseason game and didn’t take the field again. Against both New York and Buffalo, the Steelers allowed Will Howard and Drew Allar to take all the snaps.
They certainly had their tough moments while playing in their first preseason slate. Howard especially, throwing three picks over the past two weeks.
But Roethlisberger remains confident in them. He defended Howard after his struggles against New York and still feels confident in both quarterbacks going forward.
In order to keep both, Roethlisberger thinks sending Rudolph to the practice squad is an option.
“The odd man out in that scenario, the one that could go to the practice squad is Mason. You know what you have in Mason,” Roethlisberger said.
Roethlisberger also felt there was an advantage to cutting Rudolph, as it would give another position more depth.
“Don’t stiff that room for a quarterback that’s never gonna see the field,” Roethlisberger said. “You can’t waste that spot on a quarterback.”
Drew Allar certainly would not make it to the practice squad, and the Steelers have no reason to put him there. Howard is a little risky, but it’s not as if he’s a player the Steelers would instantly lose. Howard did slide to the sixth round in a weak quarterback class. And while he had nice moments during the preseason slate, he was far from dominant.
This isn’t the first time Roethlisberger has suggested putting Rudolph on the practice squad. But doing so is far easier said than done, and it’s likely not as realistic as some believe. He’s not a game-changing type of player, but he has proven himself more than capable as a backup at the NFL level.
There is probably a team around the league who would view Rudolph as an upgrade if the Steelers were to leave him available to be poached.
That doesn’t mean Rudolph has to stay on the roster, but it’s probably not realistic to slot him into the practice squad. Either way, the Steelers don’t have long until it’s decision time at the QB position. If it was up to Ben, he’d absolutely keep Howard and Allar around.