Aaron Rodgers is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ unquestioned QB1 for 2025, but their future plans are still murky. The potential for the Steelers selecting a first-round quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft is high, but they also have a rookie on the roster with a lot of promise in Will Howard.
Rodgers was asked during his introductory press conference Tuesday if he is looking forward to helping Will Howard like he did Jordan Love and other young quarterbacks around him throughout his career.
“I am. Will’s a good kid. We’ve got to talk a little bit. I thought he did really well today,” Rodgers said after the team’s first minicamp practice in a video on the Steelers’ YouTube. “He seems pretty bright. Not too big for him. Going through the progressions really well. But yeah, I mean I’m gonna be with him every single day in every single meeting. Found my seat next to him today in the offensive meeting, whether or not that sticks, right next to Will Howard. So I’m gonna help him out as much as I can.”
There was tension between Rodgers and the Packers after they drafted Jordan Love in the first round in 2020 and some of that was misconstrued by the media as him and Love having a negative relationship. Love recently stated the opposite as he reacted to Rodgers signing in Pittsburgh. He talked about how much he appreciated Rodgers’ approach to that difficult situation and what he ultimately learned from him in their time together.
Rodgers’ former QB coach and OC Tom Clements talked about how great he is around younger quarterbacks. Brett Favre wasn’t always the best to Rodgers, and he wanted to do things differently. He will be generous with the knowledge he shares with Howard and the other QBs in the room. And why wouldn’t he be? It’s not like he is trying to protect his spot long-term with the team at 41 years old.
Howard told reporters today that the opportunity to learn from Rodgers is “second to none”. Very few quarterbacks get the opportunity to learn directly from a future Hall of Famer and Howard seems ready to take full advantage of it.
Tom Pelissero recently reported that the Steelers were pleased after their early look at Howard during OTAs and even floated the chance of him taking the reins from Rodgers in the future. The odds are against him as a sixth-round pick, but talent always rises to the top in the NFL. You can’t teach his size or his championship pedigree, and what he learns from Rodgers will stick with him the rest of his career.
