Steelers Legend Ben Roethlisberger Makes It Clear He Disagrees With Mike McCarthy's QB Plan

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to begin an entirely new chapter with Mike McCarthy leading the charge. McCarthy made one of his most important decisions during the 2026 NFL Draft when Pittsburgh selected quarterback Drew Allar with the 76th overall pick. Just one year earlier, the Steelers used a sixth-round selection on Will Howard, giving the organization two young quarterbacks with uncertain but intriguing futures.

The interesting part is that McCarthy wasn’t responsible for drafting Howard. That decision came under the former regime led by Mike Tomlin, who walked away following Pittsburgh’s playoff loss at the end of the 2025 season. McCarthy did, however, help handpick Allar, which could give the rookie an early advantage as the new coaching staff begins evaluating both quarterbacks.

McCarthy now has one season with Aaron Rodgers in the Steel City before the QB plans to retire. That makes the competition between Howard and Allar especially important, as one of them could eventually emerge as the future face of the franchise. It would take a lot for either a third-round pick or a sixth-round pick to reach that level, but both represent low-risk options with potentially high rewards for Pittsburgh.

Before the Steelers can seriously consider life after Rodgers, they must determine how to handle him throughout the 2026 preseason. There has been plenty of discussion about whether the veteran quarterback should play at all, but former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made his stance clear during a recent episode of his Footbahlin podcast. 

Roethlisberger revealed why he doesn’t like the idea of Rodgers receiving significant preseason snaps, especially when those opportunities could be used to evaluate Pittsburgh’s younger quarterbacks.

"Last year, was it smart? Sure it was. A new offense and new team," Roethlisberger said. "This is his offense. He knows this. He doesn’t need to be out there in the preseason. I guess if you want some continuity. I think they said something between 30 and 60 plays for the whole preseason. I don’t know if that’s how many games or whatever, but you’re talking maybe 20 plays a game. That’s a lot."

Roethlisberger understands the value of Rodgers building chemistry with his teammates, but he doesn’t believe that benefit outweighs the risk or the cost to Pittsburgh’s younger quarterbacks, such as Allar and Howard. Every snap Rodgers takes is one fewer opportunity for Howard and Allar to show McCarthy whether either player can become part of the Steelers’ long-term plan. 

"Roughly 20 snaps a game is a lot," Roethlisberger said. "Not only is it a lot for your quarterback, the Hall of Famer you built this team around, but what it also does, more importantly, is it takes all those reps away from other guys. Have Aaron go one series. Let him go one series, whatever that entails, and pull him out. Then I’d go right to whoever is next. Don’t take reps away from those other guys for a Hall of Fame guy that already knows this offense. That’s my argument. Like, man, let’s get reps for the other guys."

In Roethlisberger’s mind, one series should be more than enough for a future Hall of Famer who already knows McCarthy’s offense.

Steelers Must Make Protecting Aaron Rodgers Their Top Priority In 2026

Keeping Rodgers healthy is arguably the most important factor for the Steelers in 2026. Everyone remembers how his first season with the New York Jets ended immediately because of injury. That doesn’t mean history will repeat itself in Pittsburgh, but Rodgers’ age creates an undeniable risk, and every unnecessary snap he takes exposes him to another opportunity for something to go wrong.

Roethlisberger’s argument makes complete sense. Rodgers already knows McCarthy’s offense, so there is little reason to place him in harm’s way during meaningless preseason action. Hopefully, McCarthy keeps Rodgers on the sideline and uses those games to evaluate Howard and Allar, which is what Steeler Nation truly cares about seeing before the regular season begins.

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