Steelers Now
Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum predicts when Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard will see the field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have their starting quarterback for the 2025 season in Aaron Rodgers. But former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum doesn’t think he’ll finish it as he believes the team will turn to rookie quarterback Will Howard at some point.
“Will Howard will be starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers by December 1st,” Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “Will Howard led Ohio State to the national championship, 89 QBR, 35 touchdown passes. And if he was a little bit better in the offseason before the draft, he could have been a third- or fourth-round pick.”
The Steelers selected Howard in the sixth round (No. 185 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft after he led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a College Football National Championship in 2024.
During that span, Howard threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 226 yards and seven more scores.
However, Pittsburgh’s plan has always been to let Howard sit and learn during his rookie year, and what better way to do that than behind a four-time NFL MVP in Rodgers?
Tannenbaum thinks Rodgers’ best days are far behind him, though.
“Aaron Rodgers is an all-time great, but he will be 42 in December,” Tannenbaum said. “Last year, Pittsburgh gave up sacks at the 28th-highest rate, meaning they were not very good protecting the passer. So when you have a 42-year-old quarterback, no offseason program, an offensive line that should, in fairness, be better because Troy Fautanu is coming back, I think Will Howard has a meaningful chance to be the quarterback of the future.”
That may be true, but if the Steelers want to set up Howard for success at the next level, they should avoid playing him as a rookie.
Howard seems to be just fine with that plan, too.
“I was fired up,” Howard said of Pittsburgh signing Rodgers. “Believe me. That’s a guy I grew up watching, idolizing, and it’s cool to be in the same room with him. Just hearing, first day, his thoughts and the way that he looks at things. He’s a legend in this game. I’m gonna try and learn as much as I can from him and be the best support guy that I can be for him. I think it’s amazing. The opportunity for me to learn and to work with a guy like that is second to none.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former NFL GM Predicts When Steelers Rookie QB Will Howard Will Start
