To make the news of Pittsburgh Steelers rookie QB Will Howard beginning the year on injured reserve an even difficult pill to swallow, it wasn’t just the fanbase impressed by his camp performance. His teammates were taking notice, too. Wide receiver Ben Skowronek highlighted Howard as the top Steelers’ rookie who stood out at Latrobe.
“Will Howard, I’m very impressed by his football IQ at such a young age,” Skowronek said during Cam Heyward’s latest Not Just Football podcast. “He’s asked the right questions and very sharp.”
The episode was recorded during training camp and presumably before Howard suffered a broken finger on his throwing hand that knocked him out for the rest of the summer. He’ll begin his rookie season on injured reserve. At minimum, he’s out the first four games but likely longer than that and could miss the entire year.
Howard’s football IQ comes as little surprise. As we noted in our pre-draft scouting report, Howard showed his smarts on and off the field. In high school, he carried a 4.34 weighted GPA, scored 1,380 on his SAT, and was recruited by every Ivy League school. He likely would’ve played at Princeton or Harvard until Kansas State offered him a scholarship late.
In college, Howard picked up new offensive systems and in one year at Ohio State, won the starting job, won the trust of his teammates, and won a National Championship. NFL-level coaching from Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator Chip Kelly helped prepare him for Sundays.
Though Howard was injured before stepping inside a stadium, it was clear he was operating at a higher level than most late-round rookies. Some rookies struggle to process and trust what they see. Not Howard.
“My impression of his camp was that the moment wasn’t too big for him,” we wrote in our post-training camp evaluation. “Plenty of rookies come in with a deer-in-headlights look. That manifests itself in a couple of ways. Quarterbacks who check down every pass, those who hold the ball forever, leading to “dead” plays with a blown whistle, and those who don’t seem decisive with the football.
Howard was none of those things. He knew where to go with the football. His throws came out on time. He beat the blitz. He threw just one pick during his worst practice, a forced throw snagged by S Sebastian Castro.”
Howard and Skowronek worked plenty together before his injury. It’s no surprise that was Skowronek’s response to the most standout Steelers’ rookie.
Unfortunately, it won’t be until 2026 until Howard can take practice and turn it into play. Even if activated at some point during the regular season, the odds of Howard playing are remote. Pittsburgh has three experienced quarterbacks on the depth chart in Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, and Skylar Thompson. The number of injuries and bad breaks the Steelers would have to suffer for Howard to see the field are doubtful to occur. Howard will use his rookie season the way it was intended. To sit, to learn, and to grow from being around the quarterbacks on roster. To make a smart quarterback even smarter and compete for the backup job next season.
