Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers fans may have to wait a little while longer to see rookie quarterback Will Howard in action.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard has been sidelined with a broken pinky finger since the summer, and one insider doesn’t think he’ll be returning to the field anytime soon.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers have no plans to activate Howard at this time.
“I think they are going to keep their fingers crossed with two QBs until there is an injury for now,” Dulac said.
Howard, Pittsburgh’s sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, suffered his injury on a freak snap exchange during training camp. It caused him to miss the entire preseason and then he was placed on injured reserve after making the team’s initial 53-man roster.
The rookie has been recovering since and quarterbacks coach Tom Arth even revealed that Howard has progressed well.
“Will has handled the injury as a professional, just as we would expect him to. Really appreciative of our athletic training staff, our strength and conditioning staff. They’ve done a fantastic job working with Will,” Arth said. “I think he’s in great shape right now. He’s been in as good a shape as he’s been since he’s been a Pittsburgh Steeler.”
However, it doesn’t seem to be well enough to be activated back to the 53-man roster.
Fellow backup quarterback Skylar Thompson is also on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury, so Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are the only healthy quarterbacks. Howard would likely get the call up if that were to change, though.
A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Howard played college football at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State in 2024, when he threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to a College Football Playoff National Championship.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Get Big Update on Injured Rookie Will Howard
