PITTSBURGH -- Will Howard did enough against the Green Bay Packers to leave the Steelers with a decent impression. The problem is that his competition left an even better one.
Howard completed seven of nine passes for 86 yards in the Steelers’ preseason opener, a solid outing for a second-year quarterback trying to keep his place on the roster in 2026 and preserve a path toward an NFL starting job. On most nights, that would count as a strong step forward. Here, it may have been swallowed up by what happened around him.
Mason Rudolph remains the front-runner for the backup quarterback role, and Mike McCarthy has been clear about how much he likes what he has seen from Rudolph in training camp. At this point, it would take a rough preseason stretch for the nine-year veteran to lose that edge.
Howard’s task is more complicated than simply playing well. He has to convince the Steelers that he belongs on the roster because of his upside, not just because he had a decent night. That becomes a tougher sell when another quarterback in the room is looking more like the long-term answer.
That quarterback is Drew Allar.
McCarthy’s comments on the Pat McAfee Show the day after Allar’s big performance made the picture pretty clear: "When we drafted Drew Allar, we felt we were getting a first-round pick… All of that’s holding true."
Allar backed that up against the Packers, going 10 of 13 for 154 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. He finished the first week of the preseason with the highest passer rating among all rookie quarterbacks.
That kind of showing changes the math. McCarthy does not seem eager to carry four quarterbacks, and the Steelers likely need that roster spot for another position.
If Howard and Allar both looked like they were headed for a real battle for the starting job in 2026, the Steelers could justify keeping both. But Allar has the look of a future piece right now, and that makes Howard easier to squeeze out.
So Howard’s path is narrow. He has to outplay Allar from here or make such a strong push that he jumps Rudolph as well. That is a difficult climb, especially if Allar keeps getting a significant share of the reps compared with Howard and Rudolph.
Howard showed enough to keep the conversation alive. He just did it on a day when the rest of the quarterback room made the road ahead a lot steeper.
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