Last season, Aaron Rodgers delivered the AFC North to Pittsburgh. He had, at forty-two, done what most of the league assumed was no longer possible: dragged a franchise through a quarterback wilderness and planted a flag. And then that Wild Card demolition at the hands of Houston happened, and suddenly the division title felt less like an answer and more like a parenthesis — a brilliant, bittersweet interlude before the question the franchise has been avoiding reasserted itself with full force. When Rodgers goes, then what?
Jordan Perez / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Aaron Rodgers during minicamp in 2026.
Rodgers Returns for One Last Crack
The four-time MVP has returned to the Steel City and confirmed that 2026 will be his final season. But before the book closes forever, he's back at Acrisure Stadium for a farewell act that begins September 13 against Atlanta — and nobody, not for a single moment, is suggesting anyone other than the former Super Bowl champion takes that first snap. The throne is his until he surrenders it. But truth be told, the bookmakers think that Rodgers and his Steelers could be forced to endure a torrid campaign next season.
Despite heading into the new season as defending AFC North champions, the latest odds from 7signs online sportsbook make Pittsburgh a distant +550 to repeat as division winners, with both the Cincinnati Bengals (+200) and the favorite Baltimore Ravens (-120) considered more likely Kings of the North.
Behind A-Rod, the quarterback room tells a more complicated story than any depth chart can capture. Mason Rudolph is there — veteran, composed, a dependable safety valve who has earned every dollar of whatever remains on his contract. And then there are two young men whose NFL careers remain largely theoretical, whose entire professional existences are being constructed in the shadow of a legend who will be gone in less than 12 months. Will Howard. Drew Allar.
One franchise. Two young quarterbacks. One throne. And a succession battle for the ages.
Will Howard — The Champion Without a Snap
Think about what Will Howard is carrying into this building every single day. At Kansas State from 2020 through 2023, he appeared in 34 games, completing 458 of 779 passes for 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns — a résumé that earned him a transfer to Ohio State and, in 2024, the most complete season a college quarterback could have scripted.
He started all 16 games. He led the Buckeyes to a school-record 14 wins. He delivered the College Football Playoff National Championship. His full college career: 767 completions from 1,202 attempts, 9,796 yards, 83 touchdowns, just 10 interceptions. At Ohio State alone in 2024 — 3,074 yards, 26 touchdowns, a ring. He wept when Pittsburgh called his name at 185th overall in the sixth round of the 2025 Draft, and somewhere in those tears was the specific grief of a national champion absorbing a Day Three verdict on everything he'd accomplished.
Days before the 2025 preseason opener against Jacksonville, Howard suffered an injury that wiped out his entire rookie year. Now, the question is this: Can a national champion who didn't take a single snap in his rookie year still be considered the frontrunner to inherit one of football's most storied quarterback positions? Mike McCarthy, for one, has publicly indicated Howard will have a genuine shot at winning the 2027 starting job, but the crossroads is real.
The upcoming preseason is his audition. Pocket command, decision-making under pressure, the leadership presence that once rallied Ohio State through a national championship run — those qualities need to translate, and they need to translate in front of an organization that is watching closely.
If Rodgers goes down, Howard is next man up and a genuine tape materializes. A healthy Howard, mentored through a full season by a Hall of Famer and developed by McCarthy's quarterback-friendly system, carries mystique precisely because the story isn't written yet.
Steelers.com
Steelers' Drew Allar during practice with Will Howard in the background.
Drew Allar — The Five-Star Who Fell to Earth
Drew Allar's story requires more to carry. Out of Medina, Ohio, rated the top quarterback prospect in the country by both 247Sports and On3, a five-star recruit who arrived at Penn State and spent four seasons building the profile of someone who would hear his name in the top ten: 45 games, 35 starts, 633 completions, 7,402 yards, 61 touchdowns. His 2024 season — 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns, eight interceptions across 16 games, Penn State reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals — had the first-round conversation happening openly. Then 2025 happened.
Penn State entered ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25, their highest position since 1997, carrying the specific weight of genuine national title expectations. It came apart at a narrow loss to Northwestern, where Allar suffered a broken ankle that sent the program into freefall — coach James Franklin dismissed, the season spiraling, a career that had promised everything ending in a hospital boot.
The third-round selection at 76th overall in the 2026 Draft wasn't an insult. But for a 6-foot-5 quarterback with a big arm, legitimate athleticism, high football IQ, and pro-style pedigree built for an NFL system, it stung in ways that statistics cannot fully capture. The ghosts of 2025 are real. The painstaking work of rebuilding confidence, healing the ankle, absorbing the system — that's Allar's entire 2026.
But on paper, no quarterback in this building looks more prototypically designed for an NFL franchise. The ceiling is enormous. The question is which version of Allar emerges when the preseason lights come on.