{"id":54030,"date":"2025-06-07T02:44:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T02:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=54030"},"modified":"2025-06-07T02:44:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T02:44:41","slug":"breaking-nfl-insider-delivers-strong-message-on-steelers-qb-will-howard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=54030","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: NFL Insider Delivers Strong Message on Steelers QB Will Howard.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2202726677.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2202726677.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2202726677.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2202726677.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Will Howard\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"125\" data-dom-ready-time=\"177\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard receiving a very strong review for his performance at offseason workouts.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s already been considerable hype for quarterback\u00a0Will Howard, particularly given that the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0only drafted him in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. But that hype doesn\u2019t appear to be stopping anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because of what NFL Network\u2019s Tom Pelissero said about the quarterback while appearing on The Rich Eisen Show on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom everything I\u2019ve been told, this was a really good time for Will Howard, the Ohio State quarterback coming off a national title,\u201d\u00a0Pelissero told Eisen on Friday. \u201cEven though Mason Rudolph was taking the No. 1 reps, it sounds like Howard was really good through those practices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019ll continue to get, I anticipate, a bunch of reps in the minicamp next week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If that wasn\u2019t enough, Pelissero then fired a very bold claim about Howard\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially you might have, whenever the succession plan takes effect 2026 or beyond, maybe with a sixth-round pick you might\u2019ve found a guy in Will Howard. Who somewhere down the line could be the guy who takes the reins from Aaron Rodgers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t entirely clear up until Thursday that\u00a0Aaron Rodgers\u00a0was going to be the guy Howard could potentially take \u201cthe reins\u201d from in Pittsburgh. But\u00a0Rodgers did finally sign\u00a0with the Steelers on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Howard is expected to be the No. 3 quarterback in 2025. Steelers Nation is certainly hopeful he could be a lot more in the future.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers\u2019 Will Howard Impressive at Offseason Workouts<\/h2>\n<p>Howard performing well at OTAs is going to be music to Pittsburgh fans ears.<\/p>\n<p>Since practically the moment the organization\u00a0drafted Howard at No. 185 overall, the fan base has propped him up as a potential future franchise quarterback.<\/p>\n<p>If that were the case, Howard likely wouldn\u2019t have remained on the draft board until the sixth round. But the Steelers may have also been fortunate he was there.<\/p>\n<p>Before the draft, NFL.com\u2019s Lance Zierlein projected Howard to be worth a fourth or fifth-round choice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHoward brings outstanding size and toughness to the table. He showed good improvement over the last three seasons,\u201d\u00a0Zierlein wrote. \u201cHe is more a vessel of the play-caller than a playmaking talent, though.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTypically, he reads half the field and makes reasonable decisions with the football, using good mechanics and consistent accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NFL teams don\u2019t typically find franchise quarterbacks anywhere on Day 3 of the draft. Zierlein concluded Howard is probably best suited for a career as an average backup.<\/p>\n<p>But some quarterback prospects selected on the final day of the draft have surprised. The Steelers have hope that\u00a0Howard\u2019s strong desire to play in Pittsburgh\u00a0and\u00a0his work ethic turn him into \u201cthe guy\u201d one day after Rodgers.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers Quarterback Depth Entering Minicamp<\/h2>\n<p>Playing is oftentimes the best way to develop. But on Pittsburgh\u2019s developing offense and behind the team\u2019s young offensive line, Howard potentially starting as a raw rookie shouldn\u2019t be appealing.<\/p>\n<p>As Pelissero said, Howard was QB2 at the team\u2019s offseason workouts. Veteran\u00a0Mason Rudolph took all the starter repetitions.<\/p>\n<p>But as Rudolph\u2019s backup, the former Ohio State quarterback was just one practice injury away from becoming QB1.<\/p>\n<p>With the arrival of Rodgers, that changes. Now, Howard can approach the 2025 season completely as a redshirt year. Barring multiple injuries, he\u2019s not going to play. Instead, Howard can focus on his long-term development.<\/p>\n<p>Rodgers will enter Pittsburgh\u2019s minicamp next week as QB1. Rudolph is expected to serve as his backup with the sixth-round rookie behind both in an emergency capacity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard receiving a very strong review for his performance at offseason workouts. There\u2019s already been considerable hype for quarterback\u00a0Will Howard, particularly&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54030","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: NFL Insider Delivers Strong Message on Steelers 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=54030\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: NFL Insider Delivers Strong Message on Steelers QB Will Howard.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard receiving a very strong review for his performance at offseason workouts. 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