The Pittsburgh Steelers have been stuck in quarterback purgatory for quite some time now as the organization never truly had a real succession plan for after Ben Roethlisberger retired. The franchise has been piecing things together at the position year after year, essentially applying a Band-Aid to the most important position in sports. Every approach has been taken as the Steelers have missed out on free agency signings and drafted poorly in the first round, but things might finally be looking up as Pittsburgh seems to have some decent young talent in the quarterback room heading into the 2026 season.
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Steelers' Will Howard throws the ball during training camp in 2026 as Drew Allar looks on.
Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers is going to be the starting quarterback for the 2026 season, and currently Mason Rudolph is the top backup. Behind him are two younger quarterbacks in Will Howard and Drew Allar, and it is going to be interesting to see how this room looks once the final roster gets announced. There has been speculation that the Steelers could keep four quarterbacks, but there is also a chance that one quarterback is cut or traded. Rodgers and Allar are both locks to make the final roster, while Howard and Rudolph are battling for the top backup spot. There is a chance that whoever loses that battle could be moved on from by the franchise.
All of the quarterbacks that played in Pittsburgh's first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers looked good, and nothing seems to have changed in terms of the pecking order in the quarterback room. Jason La Canfora, a long-time NFL writer, recently reported how Head Coach Mike McCarthy truly feels about Howard.
"Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar is getting plenty of accolades for his showing in his first preseason game," La Canfora wrote. "He looked great, while few are talking about how comfortable and productive second-year QB Will Howard looked. The Steelers might actually have the deepest quarterback room in the league. Putting either young QB on the practice squad would be far too dangerous if they put up another outing like the opener. Head Coach Mike McCarthy was raving about Howard throughout the offseason. 'He loves that kid,' one team source told me."
Both Allar and Howard probably outplayed expectations against Green Bay. Howard had less opportunity, but he led a two-minute touchdown drive to end the first half and was efficient through the air. Allar accounted for three touchdowns while having just three incompletions, and he led a scoring drive each time he took the field.
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Steelers QB Will Howard during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Howard is at risk of being the odd-man out when it comes to the battle within the quarterback room, but it is clear his coach loves having him around. At least that is what a source inside the building said to La Canfora. Maybe that means Rudolph could be moved on from and Howard would become the top backup, or it means that the Steelers are already set on keeping four quarterbacks for the regular season, which would be a bit unorthodox.
Steelers Have Done This Before
The Steelers have actually kept four quarterbacks before, most recently in the 2025 season. This was different as they never actually had four quarterbacks counting against the 53-man roster as Howard began the season on injured reserve (IR). Once he returns about halfway through the season, Skylar Thompson was placed on IR. The Steelers can do this again, but there has to be a legitimate injury to start with. Keeping a player on IR longer than necessary isn't a big issue, but completely faking an injury to maneuver roster limits would be a problem in the NFL's eyes.
Using the IR loophole again would also hinder the development of either Howard or Allar, whichever is the player that gets hurt. On IR they cannot practice, which is part of the reason either is on the roster at all.
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