The Steelers like where they stand at quarterback for now, but the numbers are starting to squeeze the rest of the roster.
Aaron Rodgers is back for another season, giving Pittsburgh a veteran starter at the top of the depth chart. The bigger question is what the team does behind him, especially with Rodgers entering what the source describes as his final year with the franchise. That’s why the Steelers have loaded up at the position.
At the moment, Pittsburgh is carrying four quarterbacks, and that’s where the problem starts. Most teams don’t build a roster that way, and if the Steelers keep all four, they’ll have to cut somewhere else to make the math work.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor laid out the issue in a feature on Saturday, pointing directly at the roster squeeze.
"Which position gets reduced to accommodate four quarterbacks?" Pryor states in the piece. "Mason Rudolph seemingly solidified his spot as QB2 without playing a snap as Will Howard struggled, and rookie Drew Allar failed to replicate his explosive preseason debut."
She also noted that the Steelers could try to move Howard through on the practice squad, but if they don’t, the more likely outcome is that they carry four quarterbacks and trim another part of the roster instead.
"Unless the Steelers try to sneak Howard through on the practice squad, it seems more and more likely that they'll keep four quarterbacks, and that would mean numbers have to be reduced somewhere else on the roster."
Pryor pointed to offensive linemen and safeties as two areas worth watching, especially because of the flexibility veterans like Brock Hoffman and Jalen Ramsey can provide.
If Pittsburgh wants to keep all four quarterbacks, it can. The tradeoff is simple: the rest of the roster will have to be adjusted to fit them.
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