Steelers' Drew Allar May Have Development Hampered Due To 1 Critical Request From Aaron Rodgers

Back in the 2007 offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers would change forever. Mike Tomlin was hired as just the third coach dating back to 1969 following Bill Cowher's retirement, and the team never looked back. That is, until January of 2026 when a shocking announcement was made that the 2008 Super Bowl champion would be stepping down. This led to Mike McCarthy being brought in, and now the organization will go through its first training camp featuring a new head coach in 19 years. There are a whole host of questions that will finally be getting some answers soon.

One of the more fascinating situations will revolve around the quarterback position. It won't be about the starter, however, as that will be Aaron Rodgers for the second straight season. What the Steelers must find out is who will end up being the backup and have to play in the event of an injury to the veteran. The reps that occur in Latrobe will be critical when it comes to this.

Will Howard and Mason Rudolph could very well be in a dead heat battle for the job. It's even possible that one of them ends up getting waived in late August due to the presence of rookie third-rounder Drew Allar. The 2026 draft selection could really be the odd man out, but not when it comes to a roster spot. Overall, he is going to need some time to develop; however, Rodgers' way of doing things could disrupt that progress.

On a recent episode of Steelers Collective, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was talking about the signal-caller group, and something he said about Allar stuck out. A lot of the preseason time could be given to Howard and Rudolph as they battle for the backup job, but it is the practice reps that could be important for the first-year player. Despite this, the future Hall of Famer in Rodgers loves to practice and might not afford Allar the opportunity.

"We only know Aaron from last year. I'm assuming this was the case with his previous teams. He wants the reps in practice," Fittipaldo said. "He doesn't care about the preseason games; he wants the practice reps, so I don't expect him to change his stripes even if it might be for the betterment of Drew Allar, so I think really Mike McCarthy is going to have to get creative. Maybe he does rest Rodgers. They're off on Sundays throughout camp. Sundays, it's their day off. So, maybe [McCarthy] rests [Rodgers] on a Saturday."

Steelers fans will want to see Allar in preseason and chances are, if he is healthy, there will be times where he sees action. Practicing in the NFL, though, helps youngsters catch up to the speed of the game. With a backup job on the line and a starter who wants to maximize reps, there might not be very much for Allar to do early on.

Allar might not be ready to start meaningful NFL games, but getting the opportunities to go against professional defenses in practice will be very beneficial to preparing for whenever that moment may come. Unfortunately, it might not be during 2026 training camp.

McCarthy will certainly find ways to get the rookie involved; however, winning is what matters and is the most important thing. If Rodgers wants to consistently work out to get on the same page as his teammates, he will be given the green light to do so.

Steelers Have To Find A Way To Learn About Allar's Potential

With a very talented 2027 draft class expected to be coming through the ranks, Pittsburgh really doesn't have the option of not taking one of the prospects if the jury is still out on both Howard and Allar. If Rodgers hogs up a lot of the reps in practice, the only tape that the Steelers will have on these guys might come during preseason action. That will make it very difficult to convince anyone that the quarterback of the future is on the roster.

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