What is the likelihood that Will Howard is the future of the Steelers?
In the aftermath of the 2025 NFL Draft, many offseason workouts and camps are starting around the league. Fans and analysts are pondering the Pittsburgh Steelers approach to the quarterback position as these activities are underway, beginning with a rookie minicamp, which gets underway on May 8th.
Among the rookies who will attend is Steelers former Ohio State Buckeye quarterback Will Howard. Howard is generating a buzz in the Steel City after being selected in the sixth round by Pittsburgh. With the Steelers having made no other significant moves at the position this offseason, the chatter is if Howard can make an impact with the organization.
There are a variety of factors that stand in Howard’s way, but for any negatives, there are positives to balance out what could be a young, bright career. For fans eager to place wagers on rising talent, there’s even more reason to get excited—betting platforms now let users enjoy low fees and fast transactions for betting on these quarterbacks’ futures. Some real-life examples abound, such as players who were initially overlooked but achieved great success in the league, despite their draft status.
However, for any rookie looking to build a long and successful career, I believe there’s no “if” scenario with Howard seeing the field: it will be a matter of “when”.
A large obstacle in Howard’s way is being a rookie. Many NFL rookies are tossed into action too early. Of those, a great many quarterbacks are put in poor situations. Those poor situations become worse, leading to a perpetual cycle of firing GMs and coaches who then seek new quarterbacks. The rest of the talent on the team suffers – look at teams like the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, and even the Cleveland Browns, who have had little or no success on those fronts.
Howard walks into a somewhat stable situation in Pittsburgh. GM Omar Khan enters his third season in his role, but has been in an administrative position with the franchise since 2001. Head coach Mike Tomlin has been with the Steelers since 2007, and while Tomlin has been trying to dig out of a playoff losing streak, the club has made the postseason several times and still hasn’t posted a losing record since 2003.
Whether Howard is the answer to Tomlin’s playoff woes won’t be known for some time. The stable situation means Howard won’t be on the field playing in Week 1. The Steelers’ head coach is also stubborn when it comes to his rookies, leveraging an old-school “earn it” mentality to foster competition and also make sure inexperience doesn’t tank the team’s prospects early in the season.
Such has been the case with several other rookies over the years, including how Tomlin handled former first-round pick Kenny Pickett in 2022. Pickett wouldn’t become the starter until Week 5, and he, too, was rushed into duty when Mitchell Trubisky faltered.
A similar scenario could play out in 2025, too. Pittsburgh brought former 2018 third-round selection Mason Rudolph back on a two-year deal this offseason. Rudolph was offered a deal after leading the Steelers to the playoffs with a three-game win streak to finish the 2023 season. However, after Russell Wilson announced he would join the team last offseason, Rudolph went another direction, signing with the Tennessee Titans.
Rudolph returns to a team with a different offensive coordinator, but several familiar offensive pieces still in place such as WR George Pickens, RB Jaylen Warren, and TE Pat Freiermuth. Perhaps Tomlin has had a change of heart and will give Rudolph a full opportunity that he’s lacked while sitting behind Ben Roethlisberger during his early career and then competing with Trubisky and Pickett for playing time.
With 18 career NFL starts, Rudolph is the presumed starter as of now. If he plays well, Tomlin won’t rush an inexperienced Howard into action. Yet, that can also change if free-agent veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers makes a decision and signs with the Steelers.
Rodgers’ joining the team would be a blessing and a curse for Howard. On one hand, he moves further down the depth chart, possibly inactive as the team’s emergency quarterback on game days. On the other hand, learning behind a future Hall of Fame candidate like Rodgers might be the best thing for his development.
If the depth chart remains the same with Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, a former seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, Howard might have an opportunity to play as soon as this season. Injuries are common around the league, and as many as 60 quarterbacks have taken a regular-season snap over the last few seasons.
The Steelers aren’t immune to the injury bug, having had Trubisky, Pickett, and Rudolph rotate time in 2022 and 2023, and again playing three quarterbacks in 2024 when Wilson gave way to Justin Fields, and even Kyle Allen saw some playing time when Fields was briefly sidelined.
Rudolph had a rocky 2019 season in which he was concussed and then got into an altercation with Myles Garrett. Both incidents led to undrafted quarterback Devlin Hodges (“Duck”) playing. Rudolph’s season ended with a broken collarbone in the next-to-last game against the Jets.
That kind of unpredictability could lead to Howard getting playing time, but his talent will also dictate if he ascends to the primary backup role. The larger-bodied QB played is no stranger to big-time games, as Ohio State won the first expanded College Football Playoff. His competitiveness could turn heads and will certainly have Rudolph looking over his shoulder to stave off the youngster.
In the worst-case scenario, should the other quarterbacks remain healthy but the Steelers squander their season, we might see Howard take the field in the final games of the regular season. With nothing to lose, the team will be able to evaluate their young quarterback in a “real” game setting that can’t be replicated in the preseason.
That experience would then build into whatever the Steelers’ plans are in 2026. If Howard shows enough promise, they may not be in the market for another quarterback. If he plays poorly, Pittsburgh could be positioned higher in the draft to make a splash for a big-name passer, as the host city of the 2026 NFL Draft, no less.
Regardless, everyone should pump the brakes on pushing Howard onto the field too soon. Other teams passed on him for evaluation reasons, and there’s no doubt the Steelers had the same concerns. It’s exciting to know there’s a new, unknown prospect in the building. However, the last time the Steelers had one of those, using a higher draft selection, it turned out poorly.
Mike Tomlin has always preferred veteran quarterbacks throughout his tenure, too. Surely the team learned their lesson from last time and won’t rush the Buckeye out there before he’s ready.
