The Pittsburgh Steelers have an important decision to make at quarterback ahead of the NFL roster deadline: do they keep four quarterbacks? After the preseason finale, that's the only way Will Howard is making the team. It's clear that head coach Mike McCarthy wanted to get a long look at Howard.
Unfortunately, things didn't go well for Howard against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale.
Howard looked uncomfortable under pressure and struggled to effectively move the offense down the field. When his first read wasn't open, he panicked. This resulted in the second-year quarterback taking three sacks for minus 22 yards, which proved to be drive-killers.
Through 30 minutes of first-half action, Howard managed a mere 69 yards on 15 pass attempts (4.6 yards per attempt). Though he did throw a pair of touchdown passes, these were on catch-and-run plays in the red zone from wide receiver Germie Bernard and tight end Lake McRee. Howard also threw an interception -- his third in his last four quarters of game action.
This dud performance against the Bills came six days after his game against the Jets, where he threw for just 74 yards on 15 attempts (4.9 yards per attempt) and a pair of interceptions en route to a 38.6 passer rating.
For the second straight game, Howard played about as poorly as we could have anticipated... and the Steelers now have an obvious roster decision to make.
Will Howard does not deserve to make the Pittsburgh Steelers' 53-man roster after a brutal preseason
I know that Will Howard has a big following in his corner. After all, he was a national championship quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. But we're starting to see why he was a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In practically every way, Howard looks like a reserve quarterback. This preseason, he didn't perform well under pressure, he made poor decisions, and he could not consistently lead his team down the field. Additionally, Howard seemed to get easily flustered and didn't bounce back with solid drives after his costly interceptions.
Quite frankly, Howard didn't do enough for the Steelers to devote a fourth roster spot to the quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers is the starter, Mason Rudolph is the clear backup, and Drew Allar is the promising developmental backup.
Howard needed a great summer to justify sticking around, and that's not what he gave the Steelers.
It's entirely possible that a team could poach Howard off waivers if the Steelers elect to cut him. While Pittsburgh would probably like Howard to circle back to the practice squad, it's not the end of the world if he doesn't.
Howard never really stood much of a chance to be the next franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh. And after a forgettable August, the Pittsburgh Steelers should have an easy decision to send him packing before the NFL roster cutdown deadline. Howard simply did not do enough to earn a spot on this team.
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