{"id":45096,"date":"2025-04-30T02:17:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T02:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096"},"modified":"2025-04-30T02:17:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T02:17:32","slug":"breaking-steelers-face-backlash-over-qb-will-howard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Will Howard, the ex-Ohio State Buckeyes\u00a0quarterback, led the team to a championship title after joining only a year ago from the Kansas State Wildcats. Despite his feat, the star signal-caller had to wait until the sixth round for the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0to select him at No. 185 overall.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN draft analysts Matt Miller and Jordan Reid, though, each questioned whether he was the right choice for the Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>Both analysts argued the Steelers should have used an earlier pick for a signal-caller who was a better fit for their team.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Pittsburgh waited until No. 185 in Round 6 before picking a quarterback, selecting\u00a0Ohio State&#8217;s Will Howard.&#8221;\u00a0Miller pointed out in a report released Sunday. &#8220;Despite leading the Buckeyes to the national championship last season, Howard doesn&#8217;t project as a starting-level\u00a0NFL quarterback due to his limited arm strength. He has good running ability and high-end toughness, but he isn&#8217;t the starting-level quarterback the Steelers need.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-item-inline\">\n<figure class=\"l-inline tml-image m-detail--tml-image--inline\"><picture class=\"is-loaded\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.webp 380w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.webp 620w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.webp 700w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1240px) 700px, (min-width: 675px) 620px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.jpg 380w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.jpg 620w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1240px) 700px, (min-width: 675px) 620px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"m-detail--tml-image m-image\" src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.jpg\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\" Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin\" width=\"8490\" height=\"5660\" data-src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjE0NTQ4ODEwNDE4ODg5NzUx\/pittsburgh-steelers.jpg\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>\n<p class=\"tml-image--caption\">Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin<\/p>\n<p class=\"tml-image--attribution\">\u00a9 Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Reid added, &#8220;I am also confused by what the Steelers did at quarterback. It was the biggest hole on their roster, as Mason Rudolph is currently projected to be their starter. While there are free agent options still out there (Aaron Rodgers), I thought the Steelers would pick a quarterback before the sixth round. Howard was graded as a mid-Day 3 pick, and I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s much of a chance of him playing early.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-twitter-embed\">\n<figure class=\"m-embed mm-embed--twitter l-inline\">\n<div class=\"rna-container rh-ineligible\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/excelfootball\/status\/1916250924932022766\" data-rhp=\"1\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1916250924932022766&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fathlonsports.com%2Fcollege%2Fohio-state-buckeyes%2Fwill-howard-draft-backlash-pittsburg-steelers-aaron-rodgers-qb1&amp;sessionId=05bda093dd6348e92bb00dad051b433faffbeaa2&amp;siteScreenName=athlonsports&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1916250924932022766\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Brooke Pryor of ESPN\u00a0echoed a similar statement regarding the pick. She wrote that if the Steelers don&#8217;t sign veteran Aaron Rodgers, the team might regret its decision to not draft a quarterback before Howard in the sixth round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Will Howard, the ex-Ohio State Buckeyes\u00a0quarterback, led the team to a championship title after joining only a year ago from the Kansas State Wildcats. Despite his feat,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Will Howard, the ex-Ohio State Buckeyes\u00a0quarterback, led the team to a championship title after joining only a year ago from the Kansas State Wildcats. Despite his feat,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T02:17:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"605\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"583\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-30T02:17:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T02:17:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg\",\"width\":605,\"height\":583},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard..\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Will Howard, the ex-Ohio State Buckeyes\u00a0quarterback, led the team to a championship title after joining only a year ago from the Kansas State Wildcats. Despite his feat,...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-04-30T02:17:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":605,"height":583,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096","name":"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-30T02:17:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-30T02:17:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-193.jpg","width":605,"height":583},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45096#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Steelers Face Backlash Over QB Will Howard.."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45101,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45096\/revisions\/45101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}