Nobody Wants To Admit This About Steelers QB Will Howard, But Insider Claims It's The Truth

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still trying to figure out exactly what they have at the quarterback position beyond the 2026 season. While Aaron Rodgers is expected to lead the team for one final season before calling it a career, his eventual retirement leaves Mike McCarthy and the Steelers with a major decision to make. Once Rodgers is gone, Pittsburgh will have to determine whether Will Howard, Drew Allar, or someone not currently on the roster is the long-term answer under center.

The Steelers do have veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph as another option, but at this stage of his career, there isn’t much belief around the league that he is the franchise’s next starter. That has put even more attention on Howard, who has become one of the more intriguing young quarterbacks on Pittsburgh’s roster despite being selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Howard’s development has already become a major talking point among Steelers fans, especially after McCarthy revealed that he would have selected Howard even earlier if he had been the one making the picks. Those comments have fueled speculation that Howard may be ahead of schedule in his development and could potentially have more value than a typical late-round rookie quarterback.

However, Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo recently provided a much-needed reality check on just how much value Howard actually carries around the NFL right now. While some fans have wondered if Pittsburgh could potentially receive meaningful trade compensation for Howard, Fittipaldo explained why teams likely would not view the young quarterback as a valuable trade asset at this stage of his career.

"He's never played in even a preseason game and he's a sixth-round pick," Fittipaldo said regarding Howard's lack of trade value. "Why would he?"

There has been a ton of hype surrounding Howard, far more than what a typical sixth-round quarterback would generate, and there is a good reason for that. Howard’s college career gave people plenty to believe in. He led his team to a national championship during the 2024 college football season, overcame adversity, and helped elevate an extremely talented roster on the biggest stage.

Some believe playing with such a loaded roster actually made it harder to properly evaluate Howard, while others argue his NFL Draft stock was too low and that he should have been selected much earlier than the sixth round. There may be truth to both sides of that argument, but ultimately, where Howard was drafted is no longer what matters.

Steelers Have Will Howard In The Perfect Spot

The only thing that matters now is how Howard develops at the NFL level. His future will come down to his ability to learn, improve, and maximize his time in McCarthy’s quarterback system. If the Steelers truly believe he can become their future starter, his development will determine his value, not his draft position or the hype surrounding him.

For many, this feels like the perfect situation for Howard’s development. He was able to enter the league as a rookie, take time to learn, and be mentored by a four-time league MVP and one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history in Rodgers. Instead of being thrown into the fire immediately, Howard has had the opportunity to watch, develop, and learn from one of the best to ever play the position.

Now, Howard gets another season to continue that growth in 2026 while competing with Allar for the future of the quarterback position in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have put him in a position where patience and development could be the biggest factors in determining whether he becomes their long-term answer.

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