Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Standing 6-foot-4 with a broad frame, Will Howard looks custom-made to stand firm and fire passes from a pocket. Off the field, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-year quarterback usually wears a friendly smile and hardly turns down interviews, if ever.
If there are requisite boxes to check as a signal-caller, Howard ticks all of them, down to sounding like exactly like one.
“I’ve just tried to be the best version of myself every day,” Howard said in May. “I think, when it comes down to it, whatever you’re doing — whether it’s football, whether it’s life — just be the best version of yourself every day and try to get better, 1% better every single day. That’s what I’ve tried to do.”
Weighing where he was this time last offseason — as a rookie — compared to how he’s feeling now, Howard called it “very different.” He pulled a lot from last season, despite not ever seeing a single snap of game action, even in the preseason. Now, he’s being asked to get up to speed with a new offense for the third time in as many seasons, having done so when he transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State.
He believes it’s a good thing to be accustomed to two different systems early on in his career. He raved about new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy’s emphasis on details, down to footwork and ball-handling, saying, “It just makes you hyper-focused and locked in on those things that maybe seem minute and seem miniscule, but really make a difference.”
Howard also watched the Steelers select Penn State’s Drew Allar in the third round of April’s 2026 NFL Draft, signaling a competition that Howard will certainly have to prove himself in.
“I think Drew is amazing,” Howard said. “He’s a great kid, and I’ve met him a couple times before and (have) got a lot of respect for him. I think it’s just to improve the room, and continue to improve the Pittsburgh Steelers as a whole. I’m excited to compete with all the guys that we have in the room.”
Spoken like a true quarterback, huh?
Acquired: The Steelers selected Will Howard in the sixth round (No. 185 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft. Howard was the eighth quarterback taken off the board, after Cam Ward (No. 1, Tennessee), Jaxson Dart (No. 25, New York Giants), Tyler Shough (No. 40, New Orleans), Jalen Milroe (No. 92, Seattle), Dillon Gabriel (No. 94, Cleveland), Shedeur Sanders (No. 144, Cleveland) and Kyle McCord (No. 181, Philadelphia).
Last season: Behind four-time Associated Press NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers — the firmly entrenched starter — Howard was trying to prove himself within a room that also included Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph during training camp. Howard suffered a fluke pinky injury while taking a snap under center and didn’t get to see any preseason action.
Career: See...
