Mike McCarthy may have made the Steelers' toughest roster call even more painful

Mike McCarthy may have made the Pittsburgh Steelers’ toughest roster decision even harder by sounding comfortable with all four of his quarterbacks. That’s good news for the position room, but bad news when Pittsburgh has to decide whether keeping both Will Howard and Drew Allar on the 53-man roster is worth sacrificing a roster spot elsewhere.

The Steelers already know what they have in Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph, so the final two preseason games belonged entirely to Howard and Allar.

Keeping all four would protect Pittsburgh from losing a young quarterback it has invested time in developing. But carrying four passers on the final 53-man roster would also leave another position group a body short.

Mike McCarthy’s confidence makes Will Howard harder for the Pittsburgh Steelers to cut

"You got to feel so good about the quarterback room. I've been saying it for quite some time, and they showed it on the field,” McCarthy said at his post-game press conference.

While he took some unnecessary sacks and is being evaluated for a concussion because of it, Howard did back up some of that confidence against Buffalo. He completed 9 of 15 passes for 69 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the first half. He found Germie Bernard for a 13-yard score and Lake McRee for another from five yards out.

Allar took over after halftime and finished 9 of 18 for 88 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown, but he opened the second half by directing an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ended with Eli Heidenreich’s 9-yard touchdown run.

McCarthy’s comments complicate the cutdown because Pittsburgh can justify keeping all four quarterbacks. Rodgers is the starter, Rudolph is the experienced backup, and Allar is about as close to a roster lock as a developmental quarterback can be. He’s a McCarthy disciple Pittsburgh spent a third-round pick on just four months ago, so the Steelers aren’t cutting him.

That leaves Howard as the most vulnerable of the four, but releasing a second-year quarterback the staff remains excited about and hoping he clears waivers for the practice squad is risky.

“We got two veterans that we can win with, and we got two young guys, and we're real excited about their future,” McCarthy said.

Cutting one of the young quarterbacks means risking a developmental player the staff says it believes in. Moving Rudolph would weaken the experienced insurance behind Rodgers. Carrying four means another position loses out, which could cost Pittsburgh a player who offers more immediate value on special teams.

Pittsburgh entered the finale with a genuine four-quarterback roster dilemma, and McCarthy’s comments offered no hint that either young passer is expendable. Steelers Nation will just have to wait until Sunday afternoon to see what shakes out.

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