Much will be made about the state of the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback room until they find and develop their franchise quarterback of the future. At one point in time, they thought Kenny Pickett was that, just like Mason Rudolph could have maybe been a dude. The specter of Ben Roethlisberger grows with each passing season, but at least the Steelers will have Aaron Rodgers to look forward to!
However, there is one glimmer of hope for a succession plan internally beyond that of Rodgers playing a few more years. It would be the promise of Will Howard. Despite winning a national title last season during his lone year at Ohio State, Howard is not expected to play at all during the preseason due to a hand injury suffered earlier in training camp. He still might make the 53-man roster anyway.
This may be because the rest of the quarterback room backing up Rodgers is suspect at best. I may like Rudolph as a steadier presence than most, but I see Howard beating out fellow former Kansas State star Skylar Thompson, as well as another guy with Tennessee Titans ties that Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith can never seem to quit in Logan Woodside. Will Pittsburgh keep three guys?
I think punting on Howard before even seeing him play would be disastrous for the Steelers franchise.
Will Howard should make Pittsburgh Steelers without playing in a game
Here is how I see it. Howard did enough in college at Kansas State and Ohio State to merit at least getting some run with the Steelers this season. He may not have been a high draft pick, but we saw him save his best football for when the moment required it. Howard routinely did this at Ohio State last year and during his time playing for Chris Klieman at Kansas State. I think the Steelers want him.
More importantly, I could see a scenario in which Rodgers and Rudolph would be willing mentors for him. Frankly, he does not even have to beat out Rudolph for the primary backup job to make this team. All Howard needs to do is let guys behind him on the depth chart like Thompson and Woodside play sub-standard football during the preseason. Rudolph could be on thin ice, but it does not matter.
Ultimately, the Steelers owe it to themselves to see what Howard has before potentially moving on from him. They may not have invested a ton of draft capital into the guy, but it is not like he is an undrafted free agent or something. Keep in mind that he got all those reps in practice prior to Rodgers signing with the team in the early part of the summer. I would give Howard a real shot here.
His NFL ceiling is not extraordinarily high, but he could become a better version of what Rudolph is.