Ben Roethlisberger saw enough people come and go throughout his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers to know a thing or two about what makes a young quarterback successful. His circumstances as a former first-round pick were vastly different from those of sixth-round rookie QB Will Howard, but Roethlisberger still offered some sage advice.
“He needs to understand, and I would tell him this: you don’t have pressure, bud. You are a sixth-rounder. There’s no pressure,” Roethlisberger said via his Footbahlin podcast on YouTube. “He should go into this thing with like, [the mentality of] I can play free. I have no pressure.”
Especially for the Steelers, even first-round quarterbacks start out as the backup. They must prove themselves by running the scout team and assisting the starting quarterback with sideline film review on game day. Mitch Trubisky wasn’t anything special as the starter in 2022, yet they still made Kenny Pickett sit for the first few games before eventually giving him a starting opportunity.
Even Ben Roethlisberger started as the backup to Tommy Maddox before an injury forced him into action.
Just because he is a sixth-rounder without a tremendous amount of pressure on him, that doesn’t mean Roethlisberger thinks he should resign himself to the backup role.
“He should come in here with the mindset of this is my job,” Roethlisberger said. “I wanna be the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the next 15, 18, 20 years. That should be his mentality. Now I hope and I would tell him to do it the right way.”
Guys like Charlie Batch, Bruce Gradkowski, Byron Leftwich, and Landry Jones made themselves invaluable to Roethlisberger as they helped prepare him to be the starter each and every week. As a sixth-round pick, Howard will undoubtedly have to pay his dues and go through that process.
Howard will most likely end up being the third-string QB this season if Aaron Rodgers eventually signs. Say the 42-year-old gets injured, and Mason Rudolph performs poorly for three or four games like he did with the Tennessee Titans last season. Or maybe both Rodgers and Rudolph get hurt.
That stuff can’t be controlled, but he will only get a real opportunity if he pays his dues and works his way through the Steelers’ system as Roethlisberger advises.
How long did it take for Brock Purdy to get his opportunity as a seventh-round pick? What about Tom Brady as a sixth-round pick? To a lesser degree, look at Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson in the middle rounds. When opportunity presents itself, all he can do is be ready.
“It’ll naturally unfold itself if you’re out here preparing yourself and you’re not trying to undermine the starter and cut his legs out,” Roethlisberger said. “…All of a sudden, you’re performing a little better in practice, and it’s like, okay, now go ahead and get your shot with the ones.”
Roethlisberger’s advice boils down to being a good teammate, respecting the process, and preparing yourself as if you will eventually be the starter. Roethlisberger may not have had to do much of that himself, but he saw other quarterbacks make lengthy careers for themselves by following this formula.
With all signs pointing to the Steelers drafting a quarterback in the first round of next year’s draft, Howard might not get many opportunities to prove himself. All he can do is control what he can control. If he has talent and he displays excellent leadership, the rest will work itself out.
