The Steelers are trying to do something a little different at quarterback. Instead of hunting for a franchise passer first and then piecing the rest together later, Pittsburgh wants to stay in the fight while it develops the next guy. That approach leaves room for patience - and, if Jon Gruden’s latest comparison holds up, maybe even a real ceiling for Will Howard.
Gruden, speaking with Cam Heyward on the podcast Not Just Football, said Howard reminds him of Brad Johnson, the quarterback who helped Gruden win Super Bowl XXXVII in Tampa Bay. Gruden didn’t frame it as a flashy comp. He went straight to the traits that matter when a team trusts a quarterback to run the show.
"I think you see, probably closer than anybody that the guy has the it factor," Gruden said. "He's got very good charisma, he's smart, he's a great communicator.
He's got some talent and I'm just hoping he gets a shot at some point with the Steelers. He's got that winning aura that I think a lot of people covet."
He doubled down on the comparison later.
"I compared Brad [Johnson] to Will Howard, honestly," Gruden later added. "Brad was a bull.
We called him the bull because he was tough as hell. He took a lot of shots.
He was a great pocket passer, great communicator, and he was loyal to the team. He didn't say anything negative, nothing bothered him.
He was mentally and physically tough."
Johnson’s NFL résumé gives the comparison some weight. A ninth-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft, he lasted 15 years, started 125 games, and finished 72-53 with 29,054 passing yards, 166 touchdowns and 122 interceptions. In Tampa Bay, he started 49 games, went 26-23 and earned his second Pro Bowl nod in 2002, the same season the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl.
That kind of middle-ground evaluation is exactly what Howard seems to invite. He’s not the sort of prospect people can sell as the next Tom Brady or Brock Purdy before he’s even played a snap, but he’s also not someone to dismiss just because he was a sixth-round pick.
Howard’s game comes with real questions. He doesn’t have the biggest arm, and in college he wasn’t always the most dependable quarterback when it came to accuracy or decision-making. But toughness has never been the issue, and the Steelers have seen enough to know he’s willing to keep learning and adjusting.
That matters in Pittsburgh, where the formula has long been about building a team that can support the quarterback instead of asking the quarterback to carry everything alone. The Steelers want a defense capable of championship-level play, plus enough help from the skill group and offensive line to make the position workable.
If they get that structure right, Howard - or whichever quarterback ends up in the job - only has to do the rest: lead, stay steady and keep the team competitive.
That’s been the Steelers’ mindset since Ben Roethlisberger left, and it’s the one they’ll need to keep when Aaron Rodgers retires. If Howard eventually takes over next season and grows into something close to a Brad Johnson type, Pittsburgh could be in position to win enough to matter again.
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The most interesting part is how those possibilities fit into the bigger picture on both sides of the ball. Zac Alley has been looking for more from the linebacker group, and the defensive backfield is still sorting out how Latimer and Hawkins will be deployed as the season unfolds. On offense, the receiver room and backfield both have room for someone to separate, which leaves these players in position to turn a quiet summer into a real fall role if the reps start breaking their way. [Read more 🡒]