Now that the 16-man practice squad is set (for now) and the initial 53-man roster is complete, the Pittsburgh Steelers under GM Omar Khan can start to maneuver and deal in some roster manipulation with rookie QB Will Howard and rookie CB Donte Kent.
According to Pat McAfee Show correspondent Mark Kaboly, the Steelers are set to place both Howard and Kent on Injured Reserve, and will re-sign veteran safety Chuck Clark and interior offensive lineman Max Scharping.
If Howard and Kent are placed on Injured Reserve and be Designated to Return, they would need to miss at least the first four weeks, including the season opener against the New York Jets, Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, Week 3 against the New England Patriots, and the Week 4 Ireland game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Source: The Steelers will bring back Chuck Clark and Max Scharping and place Will Howard and Donte Kent on short-term IR.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) August 27, 2025
Clark was a surprise cut on Tuesday as the Steelers made the move to get down to the 53-man threshold on the roster. Signed in training camp, the veteran was expected to provide depth and physicality in the secondary, particularly at safety, behind Juan Thornhill and DeShon Elliott.
Elliott highly recommended his former teammate to the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin, leading to Pittsburgh picking up the familiar face. Clark played 89 snaps in the preseason for the Steelers, grading out at a 68.0 overall from Pro Football Focus. He missed one tackle, and was charged with two receptions allowed on three targets for just 13 yards.
As for Scharping, the veteran spent most of his time in the preseason with the Steelers at center, learning a new position due to the injury to Ryan McCollum. A guard normally, Scharping played 138 snaps in the preseason for Pittsburgh, including 106 at center in the first two preseason games, before logging 32 snaps at right guard in the finale as McCollum returned to the field. He graded out at just at 51.6 overall from PFF.
Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan notes that Scharping’s contract re-signing with the Steelers should be the same as the one he previously signed earlier in the offseason, just with no signing bonus.
Max Scharping had $167,500 that went dead as a result of his contract termination on Tuesday. I imagine this new contract is same as previous one only no signing bonus this time. That is what team has done in past with vet benefit deals that included signing bonuses where player… https://t.co/cYHHMNavft
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 27, 2025
The moves to place Howard and Kent on IR — though not official yet — aren’t surprising. Howard suffered a broken pinky in training camp on August 5 on a fluke center/quarterback exchange, and has been wearing a brace since suffering the injury.
Though he’s been trending in the right direction in his recovery, he missed the entire preseason with the injury. Still, he had a strong summer going prior to the injury, as Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora noted.
“My impression of his camp was that the moment wasn’t too big for him. Plenty of rookies come in with a deer-in-headlights look. That manifests itself in a couple of ways. Quarterbacks who check down every pass, those who hold the ball forever, leading to “dead” plays with a blown whistle, and those who don’t seem decisive with the football.
Howard was none of those things. He knew where to go with the football. His throws came out on time. He beat the blitz. He threw just one pick during his worst practice, a forced throw snagged by S Sebastian Castro.”
The move would leave Skylar Thompson as the third and final quarterback on the Steelers’ roster behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.
As for Kent, the rookie seventh-round pick was in a walking boot for a few days in training camp and has been battling the lower-leg injury for a few weeks. He was a surprise name on the initial 53-man roster, but with questions in the secondary, it makes sense that he would land on IR and be designated to return.
Pittsburgh could do something similar with Kent that they did with defensive lineman Logan Lee last season. Lee injured his calf in the preseason, but made the initial 53-man roster. But the Steelers then placed him on IR, where he remained all season. With Kent having very few reps in practice and no preseason experience, that could be an option for the rookie this season, too.
The earliest that both Howard and Kent could return to the Steelers would be Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns due to the Steelers having a Week 5 bye week after the trip to Ireland.
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