When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft, most pundits considered it a great value pick. Howard led the Buckeyes to a National Championship and aside from questions about his arm strength, has all the tools you look for in a modern NFL quarterback in a big, athletic package.
Howard himself has said all the right things about joining the Steelers and even has the endorsement of Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger. Put all this together and Howard and Steelers’ fans should be excited about the upcoming season, right?
Not so much. In fact, it feels like picking Howard is more of a procedural thing and there are no plans to let Howard get a fair shot at the starting job this season, regardless of whether or not the Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers.
But there’s always next season, right? Probably not. No matter what happens in 2025 short of a deep playoff push with Mason Rudolph at quarterback, the Steelers are going to spend a top draft pick on a quarterback in 2026. If the Steelers do draft a top quarterback next year, Howard is now playing behind a guy the team has invested in heavily and isn’t going anywhere. We are rooting for the cards to fall right for Howard this season and he gets an opportunity to show the team what he can do and maybe hold off the team from replacing him too quickly.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers rookie QB Will Howard might not get to compete in 2025