The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation has created a strange dynamic. Sixth-round rookie Will Howard is quietly cultivating a cult favorite status among the fandom that’s more hopeful than rational. The former Kansas State and Ohio State signal-caller has yet to take a preseason snap, but that hasn't stopped Steelers fans from latching onto him as a symbol of potential in a muddled quarterback room.
Will Howard's first week of OTAs
Rodgers, still technically a free agent, remains the focal point of what has become an alienating saga as Mason Rudolph and Howard are grinding through OTAs. His absence continues to stall any sense of quarterback clarity. For now, Rudolph leads first-team reps, while journeyman Skylar Thompson holds the clipboard as the nominal backup. But Thompson is more an assistant coach than a competitor. Thompson has a meager upside, lacks Rudolph’s background as a homegrown Steeler, and has failed to generate meaningful buzz or confidence. So naturally, the world outside the locker room has proceeded as if he doesn’t exist.
However, Rudolph is already a known commodity. He started 21 games in four seasons for Pittsburgh and directed the Tennessee Titans offense for a handful of games in 2024. He had modest success, but he’s also maxed out, which brings us back to Howard. Rudolph is expected to start the 2025 campaign if Rodgers never emerges from the forest to inscribe his electronic signature on a contract. However, the media’s focus has kept him in the penumbra of the rookie quarterback’s presence.
"He’s been great," Rudolph said in regards to Howard’s presence. "He’s a nice guy first of all, he’s a good guy to share the [quarterback] room with… I think he’s a big kid, athletic, throws the ball well… he’s got a lot of tools and excited to go to work with him.”
We’ve reached a point in the offseason where the Steelers Mason Rudolph is showering Will Howard with superlatives. While Howard possesses ideal size for a mobile passer at 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds, he fell in the draft after tallying 42 total touchdowns to 10 interceptions last season, because of his flawed throwing mechanics which told scouts a different story.
The final time Howard played competitive football was in the Ohio Buckeyes national championship victory over Notre Dame. In that appearance, Howard completed 17-of-21 passes for 231 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. Against the blitz he was first in his class in completion percentage against the blitz and the second-lowest sack rate (12 percent), but NFL defenses represent an entirely different speed and complexity.
Reality sets in for the rookie quarterback
Here’s the reality. The odds of stumbling upon a Brock Purdy, Tony Romo-caliber unfinished prospect on Day 3 of the NFL Draft are slim. The best chance to do so would have been Shedeur Sanders, but the Steelers opted against taking him to select a backup defensive lineman.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offenses burn on the energy produced by quarterbacks of Howard’s ilk. In Tennessee, Smith made the most out of Ryan Tannehill, a converted wide receiver at Texas A&M turned top-10 pick. Tannehill was a sneaky athletic quarterback. Last season, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields regularly operated outside the pocket. When he was head coach in Atlanta, Smith favored Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder. For better or for worse, Howard fits the archetype for an Arthur Smith quarterback.
However, in the early days of OTAs, he’s looking like, well.. A sixth rounder. After OTAs ended, Howard offered up an honest evaluation of his performance "I feel like Day 1 just wasn't really comfortable yet, didn't really know where my feet were, was a little off timing, and then Day 2 and 3, I think I've been a lot better."
This is to be expected. OTAs are still several rungs below regular season football and the Steelers' 23-year-old developmental rookie is already illustrating how he’s facing an uphill battle. Howard did improve as the week went on, but it’s a reminder to temper expectations on Howard.
His journey is just beginning. If he’s going to be the surprise of 2025, it won’t happen in OTAs. It will happen through the long, unglamorous grind of growth — the same path every sixth-rounder must walk.