Few sixth-round picks receive as much hype as Will Howard has ahead of the 2025 season. However, the Ohio State product has easily won over the fan base since being drafted last April. Unfortunately, that hype train took a detour when Howard injured his throwing hand just days before the Steelers’ first preseason game during a center-quarterback exchange.
Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Howard shared encouraging news about his recovery.
“I’m back to throwing this week,” he said, “so it’s feeling good, going in the right direction.”
The Steelers placed Howard on the injured reserve this week after he initially made their 53-man roster. As to when he might come off the IR remains up in the air, but he’s not eligible to return until after Week 4. The Steelers’ somewhat complicated quarterback situation doesn’t make things any simpler.
Aaron Rodgers will obviously start, but the Steelers might already have two quality backups in Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Pittsburgh knew that about Rudolph already, but Thompson really made a case for himself during the preseason. He did enough to stick around, and is the third quarterback while Howard is on the IR. When Howard is healthy the Steelers will have a bit of a choice to make.
Some beat writers speculate Will Howard might spend the entire season on injured reserve. The Steelers are trying to win now, and if something happens to Rodgers, they might be better off with somebody like Thompson in the room. He’s simply got more starting experience than Howard, including a playoff game, and operated Arthur Smith’s offense in an impressive manner during all three preseason games. If the Steelers do bring Howard back from IR, Thompson could become a trade candidate.
Regardless, Howard’s injury never seemed to be a huge deal. It definitely hurts, as he missed out on valuable reps in the preseason. However, his injury was never expected to come with a long recovery time. That’s evidenced by the news that he’s poised to starting to throw again ahead of Week 1.
We’ll have to see how the Steelers handle things once he’s back to full health. It sounds like they’ll need to make a decision sooner rather than later.
