The Steelers need to trade Will Howard to one of these 5 teams before cutting fan-favorite

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a surplus of quarterbacks and with roster cuts needing to be finalized in a little more than 24 hours from today, they’ll have to decide how to navigate this conundrum. Do they bring four quarterbacks onto the 53-man roster with the anticipation of trading one or do they keep all four, knowing this is Rodgers’ last year anyway? 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. 

Whatever decision they make, one thing remains true: They need to find the perfect suitor for Will Howard. Whether it’s before Sunday’s deadline or not, there are more than enough teams that would be all over Howard, be it for quarterback depth or for him to have a shot at being a realistic backup option. Steelers fans might not want to see him go and thrive elsewhere, but Pittsburgh should capitalize on the fact that he still has some value as a backup if nothing more.

Detroit Lions

Detroit is the first team to come to mind for a couple of reasons. The Lions could use quarterback depth after Teddy Bridgewater’s abrupt retirement forced them to turn to Joshua Dobbs. Howard is younger and has a lot of upside. Considering he could learn from Aaron Rodgers and then Jared Goff in consecutive seasons, that could go a long way toward his development. Howard was in line to take over for Rodgers after the season but Drew Allar’s standout camp and preseason makes him the preferred option, in my opinion. 

The Lions could, in turn, benefit from landing a young quarterback that has a lot of upside and the potential to have a starting job in the future. 

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are probably giving up on Spencer Rattler, even as a backup option, which is why Will Howard could be an intriguing name to watch for New Orleans. Tyler Shough is officially their guy for now and though both came in the same draft, it wouldn’t be bad to have Howard as a backup option that’s a lot better than Rattler. Rattler was thrown into a horrible situation, for what it’s worth, but he’s probably exhausted his time in the Big Easy. 

I know Howard didn’t look the best this preseason, but that doesn’t mean a team won’t take the chance on him. He’s still in line to make the official roster for the Steelers this year. That said, if his struggles this preseason were the reason they’d consider dumping him, a trade with the Saints could be an avenue to explore. The Saints have every reason to try Howard out as a backup option because right now, they don’t really have a reliable one. If Shough gets hurt, I’m sure Howard sounds like a much better option than Rattler. 

Miami Dolphins

The one thing the Miami Dolphins have made clear is that this will be a rebuilding year. Jeff Hafley came out and said that wins and losses won’t determine how good of a season this is for Miami. With that said, their quarterback room, aside from starter Malik Willis, is pretty bad. That’s why they have to consider adding Howard. Quinn Ewers wasn't looking like a reliable option and ended up getting traded to Jacksonville on Saturday. And neither Cam Miller nor Mark Gronowski did anything that would trump what Howard has done in Pittsburgh. This isn’t the best option for Miami, but again, they aren’t seeking urgent quarterback help, mainly quarterback depth. 

They don’t need Howard to be anything other than an option if Willis gets hurt. This season is all about learning the potential of his new regime in South Florida. If they can figure out their backup quarterback option with Howard, it would save them a draft pick in next year’s draft. They seemingly don’t plan on taking one of the top quarterbacks in this 2027 class which is why turning to Howard makes sense for them. 

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns are in the running for the worst quarterback room compiled by an NFL team this year. Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t looked great at all this preseason while Michael Penix Jr. is still ailing from his torn ACL. There were rumblings of Will Levis being a serviceable option, but what if Howard is a better one? Kevin Stefanski isn’t quite a quarterback guru of a head coach, but he’s worked with some of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL during his time in Cleveland.

If Stefanski stayed afloat in Cleveland with some of the abysmal quarterback rooms he coaches, having Howard as an option all of a sudden doesn’t sound all that bad. Especially when you look at how injury-prone both Tagovailoa and Penix are, having Howard as an emergency option with upside doesn’t sound like a bad backup plan.

Houston Texans

CJ Stroud has gotten a bad rep over the last few seasons after frustrating playoff losses and rough performances. For now, he’s not getting replaced, but what if adding Howard ramped the pressure up on his play? Davis Mills isn’t really threatening to take his job (yet) and Brett Rypien was simply a depth piece after Graham Mertz’s injury. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the Texans entertain quarterback depth. Mills hasn’t played badly as a backup at all, but it could be interesting if he gets hurt if the Texans explore some options. 

While most of the teams on this list will be looking to add depth after rosters are finalized, the Texans could be interested in Howard down the road if he’s available. He’s not a horrible option now. Stroud just might need someone that will apply some pressure on him to help him get back to the level he was at his rookie year.

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