Fittipaldo: Steelers Must Get Will Howard Ready as Backup — Mason Rudolph Is Not the Answer

The Pittsburgh Steelers have wrapped up their 2026 voluntary veteran minicamp and rookie minicamps recently. The team is getting used to Head Coach Mike McCarthy's new playbook and standards. The organization hired McCarthy based on his ability to develop quarterbacks and his winning history. The Steelers now have two young signal-callers on their roster who require some attention for them to get better. One being 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard, who is going into his second year. He was injured for a lot of his rookie season, but the franchise wants to evaluate what they have in him. He could be an option as a backup quarterback in 2026, and maybe even more in the future. 

The Steelers still have veteran backup quarterback Mason Rudolph as an option, but he has been involved in a plethora of trade and cut rumors this offseason. If he is moved, then Howard is next in line for the backup spot in 2026, as long as Aaron Rodgers makes his way back. Howard won a College Football Playoff Championship during his time at Ohio State University. His winning ways in college and his leadership are two great qualities, along with his build, which is that of a "typical" AFC North quarterback. He'll have a lot to prove, though, because he missed the preseason in 2025 due to a finger injury. He has yet to take an NFL snap and is a project, but an intriguing one. He himself believes he can be "the guy". 

Howard appeared at the voluntary veteran minicamp, which the Steelers received for hiring a new head coach. McCarthy was able to get a first-hand look at Howard's skill set. He made some comments earlier in the offseason that pointed to him being confident in the young gunslinger. On an episode of the North Shore Drive podcast, Steelers beat writer Ray Fittipaldo pointed to these offseason activities as a way for Howard to become the backup. 

"You don't necessarily want to go into the season with Mason Rudolph as your backup because if there is an injury, then you're still not able to evaluate Will Howard. So to me, this entire spring, this OTAs, this summer training camp, it's about getting Will Howard prepared to be the backup, the coaching staff is comfortable with him being the backup, and that's the next logical step in his progression," Fittipaldo said. "We heard how much they love him right now. Get to this point, you're the backup, and then if something happens to Aaron Rodgers, you're going to be the guy who steps in to get that chance to show them what you can do in a real game." 

Getting Howard to the point of being a quality backup will require some work, but it's certainly possible with the current coaching staff. This will spell some bad news for the longtime quarterback, Rudolph, because that means his job will be in jeopardy. It will be difficult to keep four gunslingers on the roster, and the Steelers clearly want to see what they have in their two young arms, and Rodgers would be the starter.

Now the Steelers will have a big choice to make with which quarterbacks they keep. However, it seems as though Rudolph will be the more logical choice to move on from. The team needs to get younger at quarterback and see what its guys have. Rudolph has proven to be a more than capable player in relief, but not a full-time starter. Pittsburgh wants to find its quarterback of the future, and that wouldn't make sense with Rudolph. 

Steelers Have A True QB Developer Now

With the hiring of McCarthy, who is known as the "quarterback guru," and the rest of his staff, the young quarterbacks are set up for growth. McCarthy has historically been able to get the most out of his quarterbacks in all of his stops. This will make it a lot easier for Pittsburgh to potentially find a hidden gem in a project quarterback, like Howard.

The Black and Gold are gearing up for success in the McCarthy era and, hopefully, through great coaching, can find a future franchise guy under center. It could be someone like Howard, who could make his way into the QB2 role in 2026.

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