The Pittsburgh Steelers are seemingly stuck in quarterback purgatory, and there does not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The free agent market is very low on talent at the position, and the 2025 NFL Draft class may be even worse in that regard. While keeping Justin Fields for another year may be their best option, it would not hurt to at least take a flyer on a mid-round rookie to see if he can develop in this system, even as a capable backup.
Matt Freed
Steelers' Russell Wilson and Justin Fields warming up before a game.
Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports was brought in on 93.7 The Fan to talk about the upcoming draft and what the Steelers should look for. They brought up the quarterback conversation first, as Will Howard came off as a potential steal. Wilson helped to explain that he may not be a great option, as well as another potential rookie that Pittsburgh may be interested in.
"Big kid, has a pretty good arm, [Will Howard] is a good athlete," said Wilson. "Right now, he's probably going to be a Day 3 guy. Maybe he sneaks into the end of Day 2. I was just talking to a scout about him a couple weeks ago and he said, 'There's a chance that Will Howard gets drafted before Quinn Ewers,' but I think that's more to do with Quinn Ewers' inability to stay healthy and consistent play than it has to do with Will Howard."
It's rare that a team drafts a quarterback in the third or fourth round to use as a building block for the future, but with the issues that the Steelers have had at that position, it may be worth a shot to grab one and see what happens from there. Every now and then, guys like Brock Purdy end up doing well out of nowhere, as Wilson also mentioned, but the front office can't have that as their primary plan.
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Will Howard and Quinn Ewers meet after the Cotton Bowl.
Wilson continues on with that thought, saying that neither of those guys should be seen as a future face of the franchise.
"I don't think either of those guys are a guy that you're going to build a team around," explained Wilson. "I don't know if that's where you want to put all your marbles if you're counting on Will Howard to save you from your quarterback conundrum in a post-Big Ben world. That's the world you guys live in."
At pick 21, it's very rare that any team will find their future savior of the team, but that's the general area that the Steelers pick of late. In the 2025 draft class, there are two quarterbacks that are expected to go very early on, and then there is a large gap between them and the next tier of rookies.
University of Texas Athletics
Quinn Ewers throws a pass for the Texas Longhorns during a game.
It seems like the Steelers' best hope is to continue to build up a team to give their future quarterback a better chance to develop. Even if they have to trade up in the 2026 or 2027 draft for a top-flight quarterback, it will be easier for the team to talk itself into doing that when there are already plenty of pieces in place.
Steelers Still Have Good Reasons To Select A Quarterback
The Steelers could still draft either Howard or Quinn Ewers in the fourth round as a potential project, or at least a backup that learns the system and can take a few snaps here and there when needed. In a quarterback room that has had no sort of continuity, it may help to bring in a player that can learn the playbook now and use that knowledge in some way a few years down the road.
No matter what the Steelers do in the draft, they still need one of their 2024 signal-callers to stick around. Even if they hope to draft their future starter, Pittsburgh does not have any options that are NFL-ready right now. There is no need to rush the process like they did in 2022. Just get some more receivers and some defensive help to put any quarterback in the best position to succeed.
What do you think about Howard and Ewers not being the future for the Steelers? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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