Will Howard is no closer to playing now that Aaron Rodgers is here, but it’s a great situation, according to his offensive coordinator. The Steelers rookie will have ample opportunity to learn next to a Hall of Famer, which is priceless. In fact, they are already building that relationship, with Howard even helping Rodgers learn the Steelers’ offense.
“That’s a perfect setup for a guy like Will”, Arthur Smith told Missi Matthews. “You get a veteran, certainly where Aaron’s at in his career, he wants to pass that knowledge down. It couldn’t be a better situation for Will Howard to have a guy like Aaron in the room. And Mason [Rudolph] and Skylar [Thompson], they’re great guys and those guys collaborate. And that’s what you want to see”.
The Steelers selected Will Howard in the sixth round in April, and he begins on the bottom rung. Before Rodgers signed, he had Mason Rudolph as the veteran in the room to help him along. Granted, virtually every rookie quarterback enters a situation with veterans in the room. But how many of those veterans are Aaron Rodgers?
Not that Will Howard is especially in need of the insights only a 20-year veteran could provide. Smith praised his smarts, saying, “From the neck up, he’s further along”. He noted that Howard played in different schemes during his college career, finishing at Ohio State in 2024.
His experience will only take him so far at the NFL level, though, and that’s where Rodgers can help. He has made all of these transitions before, a long time ago, after all. “Just the speed, it catches every rookie by surprise early on”, Smith said of Howard. “And there’ll be another adjustment as we get into camp and it just cranks up [in the] preseason. But Will’s done a great job”.
According to reports, Howard had an inconsistent spring, including minicamp, which is no surprise for a rookie quarterback. The Steelers never envisioned him playing this year, in the first place, but rather want him to develop in 2025. They didn’t exactly abandon their pursuit of Aaron Rodgers after drafting him in the sixth round, in other words.
But having Rodgers in the same room will only aid Howard’s development. Contrary to popular perceptions, Rodgers is actually capable of being a good teammate and mentor. He seems to be more than willing to take on that role with his young Steelers counterpart and locker neighbor.
Now, the Steelers are not counting on Will Howard being Aaron Rodgers’ successor in 2026 or anything like that. Obviously, if it happens that way, great. But had they thought more highly of him, they wouldn’t have let him last until the sixth round. Now that they have him, though, they want to see how he develops. And in Rodgers, he has a walking, talking crash course in MVP-level NFL quarterback play.
