Aaron Rodgers might not be the Steelers' most important QB

Aaron Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh.

So another .500-ish season, maybe, is in the cards and the Steelers can try to prop up a 42-year old quarterback with greatly diminished skills so he can pad his stats at the end of his career and maybe they could sneak into the playoffs again. Amirite?

That’s what’s happening here. Don’t see much of a counterargument to what’s been posited.

Rodgers isn’t going to mask their issues with a middling running attack and he’s not going to be pushing the ball downfield much accurately next season because that’s not his game anymore. And there is no mobility and opposing defensive coordinators and pass rushers can hunt a fixed launch spot, because Rodgers can’t escape anymore. But Rodgers coming back for one last ride — surely, this is it and this has to be it — will allow the franchise to cloak what should prove to be a more meaningful endeavor.

Developing Will Howard.

If you heard the rumblings and whispers about what the football people in that organization think of Howard’s upside, it was for good reason. New head coach Mike McCarthy just got there a few months back, and missed Howard’s development behind the scenes in his rookie season in Pittsburgh, but we’ve heard for quite some time that he is on board.

And if Rodgers hadn’t decided to make another weekend trip to Western Pennsylvania to get ice cream with Pat McAfee and to actually engage with Steelers brass about a new contract this time (he was there previously without ever stepping foot in team headquarters or reaching out to anyone there according to multiple sources), you were going to start hearing a whole lot more about Howard.

Because McCarthy was going to throw himself into the task of seeing if Howard could start games for Pittsburgh in 2026.  And given Rodgers’s advanced age and limitations and the cruel realities of a looong NFL season and the fact that it’s hardly guaranteed the Steelers are playing meaningful games after Thanksgiving this season, we could end up seeing more of Howard than every before, anyway.

Who will win the Steelers back-up job?

With Rodgers back, the Steelers have a crowded QB room. Long-term Mason Rudolph can buy them a few weeks on the job if he had to play, but there is no upside there, and after spinning their wheels at starting quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger started falling into decline all those years ago, kicking the can with him doesn’t make sense. They like the long-term upside of Drew Allard, but team officials believe the recent Penn State draft picks needs years of seasoning before he would be ready to compete for a starting job, or certainly more than a tear.

At this stage of his career, and with Rodgers already knowing McCarthy’s system from their long run in Green Bay, there are going to be plenty of reps to go around for others. Expect Howard to get the bulk.

You start asking people in that organization about what they like in Howard and you start hearing “the veterans love him,” and “natural leadership qualities,” and “exceptional football IQ" and “great anticipation and vision.” Okay, not the worst starting points. And at this point, he’s already dealt with Rodgers and his outsized ego and all the BS that comes with him, and Rodgers doesn’t view him as a threat, so watching Rodgers operate in a system that is rote to him can’t hurt Howard, either.

The Steelers felt like Howard became comfortable in his own skin last year and through his practice reps there was a growing sense that everything was slowing down for him and he was becoming increasingly game ready. Of course, given how raw he was coming out of college, another year — or half a year, or whatever it ends up being — behind a future Hall of Fame wouldn’t hurt either, especially as they changed systems to things unfamiliar to Howard with Arthur Smuth no longer running the offense.

As to what McCarthy sees in him: “Mike loves him, absolutely loves him,” said one team official. “He started earning his trust right away. He fits what Mike wants to do. He has ideal size and the kid is really tough.”

McCarthy is a Pittsburgh native and has an innate feel what Steelers QBs are kind of supposed to look like and operate, going back to Terry Bradshw. Howard certainly had some warts coming out of Ohio State, but if McCarthy can help him read defense and become more nuanced in his processing, there are some athletic gifts and a great NFL build to mold.

With Rodgers back, this can move to the shadows, where it frankly still belongs for now. Had he opted to drag out his retirement much longer, Howard’s every move might have been under an intense spotlight, because, trust me, he was going to get a lot of spring and summer work in this offense. And he’ll still get plenty of it.

And the Steelers will need someone other than Rodgers to open the 2027 season. That won’t be Rudolph, and a one-year plan for Allard might not be sufficient.

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