Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Steelers have signed rookie quarterback Drew Allar to his first NFL deal, tightening the roster squeeze at the position.
- Pittsburgh's current setup leaves one veteran backup as the logical choice to remain behind Aaron Rodgers for immediate help.
- One young quarterback now faces an uncertain future in Pittsburgh as the team prioritizes both present competitiveness and future planning.
You know how that old saying goes: if you have four quarterbacks on your roster, you really have no quarterbacks on your roster. (Okay, that's not an old saying at all. It's just something I made up, but I think it does mean something: having a lot of mediocre options is bad.)
The Pittsburgh Steelers currently find themselves in this very scenario. Aaron Rodgers is back for one more go, while behind him the team has Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar. There is simply no scenario where all three of those guys make the final roster, because...well, you can't have four quarterbacks on a 53-man roster because you lose out on one or two roster spots for players who can actually help you out. With the Steelers signing Allar to his rookie deal, it appears he's set to be one of the team's quarterbacks, which means someone else needs to pack his bags.
Will Howard's time in Pittsburgh should be coming to an end
Between Howard and Rudolph, the choice for who to move on from is abundantly clear at this point, simply because of how the Steelers are built.
Pittsburgh re-signed Rodgers and hired Mike McCarthy this offseason. Those are moves you make if you think you can win football games right now. Even if the reality winds up being that this team is mediocre (and I'd be willing to bet they will absolutely be mediocre), the way they navigated this offseason is as a team that thinks it can make the playoffs.
As such, you want the primary backup behind Rodgers to be someone who could help you achieve that goal if Rodgers gets hurt and has to miss time at some point. Mason Rudolph is not a great quarterback, but he at least can provide a steady presence if the Steelers are forced to roll with him at any point.
Should the Steelers keep Will Howard or Mason Rudolph?
Career Win/Loss Record | Career Pass Attempts | |
|---|---|---|
Mason Rudolph | 9-9-1 | 738 |
Will Howard | 0-0 | 0 |
Rudolph, for better or worse, is a known entity. Sure, if Rodgers suffered a serious injury, Rudolph isn't good enough to get you to the postseason, but you can probably get away with relying on him for a few games if you have to. Howard is a sixth-round pick who has never taken an NFL snap and who just watched his team draft a quarterback in the third round. Allar is now the unknown that the Steelers will want to groom for a larger role in a post-Rodgers world, while Howard is basically left hanging.
Steelers fans might prefer keeping Howard over Rudolph solely for "maybe he'll be good one day" reasons, but that's just the trauma of dealing with the post-Big Ben quarterback room talking. Rudolph gives them a better chance to achieve their 2026 goal. Allar gives them a better chance to find a 2027 starter who can take the team into the future. Howard's best shot to be an NFL player is to find a team with worse quarterback depth to sign with after Pittsburgh lets him go.
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