Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans love rookie quarterback Will Howard. There’s a lot to like. But the organization isn’t handing him the No. 3 job. Just like his days at Kansas State, he’s battling Skylar Thompsons for reps, a role, and a job.
As it should be, frankly. Howard, talented as he is, is a sixth-round rookie. No one in his shoes should be given anything. Pittsburgh has an atypical “fourth-string” challenger in Skylar Thompson. Often, that fourth quarterback is an undrafted free agent with little chance. Last year, John Rhys Plumlee. Past years, Tanner Morgan, Brynn Renner, and John Parker Wilson occupied those shoes. Even a draft pick like Chris Oladokun got squeezed out.
Thompson isn’t that. He has nearly 150 regular season pass attempts, three regular season starts, and started a playoff game for the Miami Dolphins in 2022. If there’s any wide-eyed rookie trying to digest it all, it’s Howard and not Thompson, though Howard is showing poise beyond a first-year player.
During the 11-on-11 team periods, three groups filter in: first-team, second-team, and third-team. A fourth-string quarterback is usually frozen out, especially in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. No longer is a veteran receiving half or off-days to create chances for the fourth-stringer to bump up a rung. Nor are there injuries as there was last season, Russell Wilson limited for most of camp that gave Plumlee extra reps.
So far, there isn’t a true No. 4. Instead, co-chairs of the No. 3 spot. Howard and Thompson have nearly-evenly split reps during the team periods. Here’s how the reps have been divided up.
Team Period Reps (12 total snaps)
1. Plays 1-4: Aaron Rodgers
2. Plays 5-8: Mason Rudolph
3. Plays 9-12: Two for Will Howard, two for Skylar Thompson
Who goes in first rotates, too. For example, during yesterday’s practice, Thompson took the initial third-string reps of team period. The next period, Howard entered first followed by Thompson.
The only area Howard has seemingly had an advantage is in seven shots, snagging the reps over Thompson in the truncated seven-play session. But even that has been squeezed out by back-to-back days of a tiebreaker, a 3-3 deadlock between the offense scoring and the defense stopping heading into the final rep. For the past several years, Mike Tomlin has brought the 1’s back on the field to determine the winner (and if history is any indication, who’s eating good post-practice). That leaves Howard short a rep he’d otherwise receive.
Already, Howard has a big fan club. It’s easy to be rankled at the thought of reps being deprived. But if he’s as talented as perceived, Howard will dispatch Thompson by summer’s end. Through three practices, Howard has looked stronger of the two. The margin isn’t drastic, sample sizes for both are small, but Howard’s played cleaner and been more aggressive downfield while showing touch and layering on his throws that were among his most impressive college traits.
For now, both are getting chances to show their new teams what they can do. That’s the spirit of competition and the right way for Pittsburgh to handle things.
