Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have reinstated quarterback Will Howard from the injured reserve list, the team announced on Wednesday.
Howard had returned to practice on Oct. 23, meaning the team had to reinstate him from injured reserve this week, or he would be forced to spend the entire season on the IR list.
The team’s sixth-round pick out of Ohio State in the 2025 NFL Draft, Howard suffered a broken right pinky finger in training camp, an injury that forced him to miss the entire preseason.
He was placed on the injured reserve list on Aug. 28. The Steelers could have placed Howard on the injured reserve list before the final cut-down date, 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.
Now that Howard has returned, he’ll be the team’s third player to return from the injured reserve this season, along with linebacker Malik Harrison and cornerback Cory Trice. The club has eight IR returns to use before the end of the regular season. Trice remains on IR, but he counts against the team’s return slots even if he does not, because he was designated to return before the cut-down date.
The injury cost Howard his best shot to make an impact during his rookie season, which would have come in the preseason, where Skylar Thompson instead impressed with additional reps. Thompson remains on the IR list with a hamstring injury.
Howard will now try to make the most out of practice reps over the final eight weeks of the season, in order to set himself up for a potentially larger role in 2026.
“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,” quarterbacks coach Tom 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.”
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 Reinstate Quarterback from Injured Reserve
