We don’t know if the Steelers will need to put Will Howard on IR, but once there, he could stay there for the entire season. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that the team could do just that. A player only needs to have an injury that would keep them out for roughly four games to qualify. There is no rule stipulating that a team must designate a player from return once healthy.
And with the play of Skylar Thompson during the preseason, Dulac argues it “will also allow the Steelers to place rookie Will Howard on the reserve injured list to start the season and not worry about leaving him unprotected”.
The Steelers selected Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Though he seemed earmarked for the third quarterback role as a rookie, a broken pinky has altered the course. Pittsburgh could decide to go with Thompson, rather than a rookie who missed the entire preseason.
“Howard would have to stay on IR for at least four games, but it would not be unreasonable if he remained there for the entire season”, Dulac writes. “There is no mandatory designated-to-return date for those players”.
Just last year, the Steelers placed then-rookie DL Logan Lee on IR, but he did not have a long-term injury. It was enough to qualify for at least a four-week stay, but it appears he was healthy enough to play much sooner. The Steelers could do the same with Howard if they’re comfortable with Thompson.
And there’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. All things considered, Thompson played well during the preseason. Some have argued that he was the Steelers’ best quarterback, though only he and Mason Rudolph played. Aaron Rodgers did not play, and the Steelers didn’t get a look at Howard due to his injury.
The rookie would have played extensively, though, had he not. They wanted to see him this spring, knowing it would be the last time they’d see him for a while. But now they’re facing a dilemma, albeit a minor one barring a series of injuries. Are they willing to let Will Howard be the QB3, despite having very little experience, or might they shelve him on IR?
We don’t know where his injury stands, and the Steelers aren’t about to update us. We might not know anything until they have to start releasing injury reports, and by then, Howard might be on IR already. If that is the case, and he stays there all year, it would certainly be a disappointment. But it would also be entirely understandable. Because who wants a rookie sixth-round quarterback who isn’t even preseason-tested as their emergency option?
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