Disappointing as it is for Pittsburgh Steelers QB Will Howard to begin his first NFL season on injured reserve instead of the 53-man roster, he isn’t changing his mentality. Joining The Pat McAfee Show Friday afternoon, Howard said he isn’t going to let adversity shift his goals.
“I think all along I was looking at this season as a developmental year,” Howard told the show. “I think we all kinda were with the Steelers. Obviously, you don’t bring in Aaron Rodgers for no reason. He’s a guy who is coming in to be the guy. At least for this year. We don’t know what it’ll look like going forward. Right now, I’m going into this season saying I want to learn all I possibly can from Aaron. And just watch the way he goes about his business.”
Howard broke a finger on his hand midway through training camp, spoiling a good start to his summer. He missed the rest of camp and all three preseason games. Initially making the 53-man roster, Pittsburgh moved Howard to injured reserve yesterday. That will knock him out for at least the Steelers’ first four games of the season and likely far longer than that.
As the team did with Logan Lee last season, Howard may spend most of the year on IR before the Steelers activate him in late December, provided the team has the luxury of using one of its eight regular-season IR-return slots. Point is, Howard will spend most of the year watching and learning.
But that was always going to be the case. Had he been healthy, Howard would’ve practiced fully with the team. Aside from running scout team, reps would’ve been difficult to come by as a third-string quarterback. There’s no question he would’ve been better served practicing all year than not but it’s not a situation that will derail his career arc. If he can practice late in the season, he’ll have reps under his belt leading into the 2026 offseason.
Howard’s perspective is mature and the best path forward. It doesn’t make it any easier to face that reality.
“It killed me I couldn’t be out there for the preseason,” he said. “I felt like I was having a really good fall camp and wanted to carry that into the preseason and show Steelers Nation what I was capable of. But you gotta trust the plan. God didn’t want me out there this preseason. For what reason, I don’t know why. But gotta trust it and understand this is all part of my development. And in the long term, the grand scheme of things, I just gotta keep working and use this year as a developmental year.”
The good news is Howard’s injury is minor. He won’t spend all his time rehabbing away from the team. He can spend virtually every moment in meetings, on the sidelines, watching and learning from a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers and veteran in Mason Rudolph. Skylar Thompson also has NFL experience, and his strong summer earned him a roster spot. Three quarterbacks with three different paths, first-rounder, mid-rounder, and late-rounder, to learn from.
Pittsburgh has several recent examples of rookies bouncing back from injuries. WR Calvin Austin III missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury and became a productive playmaker in 2024. Fellow WR Roman Wilson ascended this summer after missing most of his rookie season while OT Troy Fautanu looks every bit the first-round pick Pittsburgh drafted him as last season before a knee injury paused his career. Lee made the team after sitting out his rookie year. Even a past example like OG David DeCastro wasn’t slowed down by a rookie knee injury that saw him play just a handful of games.
Howard’s experienced plenty of adversity before, making him ready to handle, and make the most of, however this season goes.
