Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard has made the team’s initial 53-man roster — for now.
Howard was one of four quarterbacks that were on the team’s initial 53-man roster at the 4 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, but it might be a brief stay. The rookie quarterback is expected to be placed on the injured reserve list, possibly as soon as Thursday.
Howard is still recovering from a broken pinky finger on his right, throwing hand that kept him out of the entire preseason, and he has yet to return to practice action.
The Steelers could have placed Howard on the injured reserve list before Tuesday’s cut-down, but that would have either had to end his 2025 season before it ever got started, or use one of the team’s eight slots to return a player from the injured reserve list.
By waiting until after the deadline to add Howard to the IR, the Steelers get the best of both worlds. Howard can go on IR, and if the team wants to bring him back, they can designate him for return at any point. On the other hand, if they don’t need him, he can remain on the injured reserve list for the entire season.
The plan all along was for Howard to serve as the team’s third quarterback this season, so if he recovers, and at some point one of Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph is injured, the Steelers can use a return slot to bring Howard back. If they never need him, they can leave him on IR and save the return slot for someone else.
Last season, the first year for the pre-cut IR return slots as part of a rule change, the Steelers wasted theirs. Omar Khan put Logan Lee and Dylan Cook on IR-return before last year’s cuts. The team ended up waiving Cook as soon as he was healthy, because they didn’t have a place for him on the 53-man roster, and leaving Cook on the IR for the entire season.
With Howard injured, Skylar Thompson will serve as the team’s third, emergency quarterback. A player has to be on the 53-man roster to fill that role, so it’ll be his for now. Thompson acquitted himself nicely during a three-game preseason run that saw him lead the NFL in passer rating.
It’s not clear how long Howard will be out for at this point. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has called him only week to week. If he goes on the injured reserve list, he will need to miss at least four weeks at that point, by rule. So if he goes on the IR before the start of the season, his first possible game would be Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
If Howard does go on IR, expect the team to sign back one of the veterans the club released on Tuesday, likely safety Chuck Clark or cornerback James Pierre. Rookie cornerback Donte Kent, who has been out with a foot/ankle injury, could...
