One thing has been abundantly clear since Mike McCarthy was hired — he’s enamored with Will Howard and isn’t shy about expressing that to the media. But the drafting of Drew Allar and the reality of roster construction built a feasible case to part ways with the intriguing young quarterback.
One insider dropped a serious hint about Howard’s future with the team after speaking with team sources.
“Head coach Mike McCarthy was raving about Howard throughout the offseason. ‘He loves that kid,’ one team source told me,” Jason La Canfora wrote via Casino.com.
It was one thing for McCarthy to say that about Howard before he ever had a chance to work with him. At that point, there wasn’t even any preseason tape to evaluate. Now, McCarthy has had a full offseason to work with Howard and has seen him in a preseason game, yet team sources are still emphasizing just how much the head coach likes the young quarterback.
Drew Allar’s big preseason performance overshadowed anything Mason Rudolph or Will Howard did, but the former sixth-round pick had an excellent debut of his own. Aside from one poor decision that put the ball in harm’s way over the middle, Howard completed 7 of 9 attempts for 86 yards. One of his biggest plays came on a 17-yard completion on 4th-and-short. He converted 2 of 3 attempts on possession downs. Howard also showed a willingness to push the ball downfield, taking more deep shots than either Allar or Rudolph.
Will the Steelers actually keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster? And what does that mean for Will Howard if they don’t?
“Team sources have indicated on numerous occasions that they could keep all four. It’s certainly being discussed,” La Canfora said. “In the end, however, veteran backup Mason Rudolph could be a legitimate trade option as roster cutdowns approach—keeping four on the active roster seems rich.”
Unless Howard flounders over the final two preseason games, his roster spot is starting to feel pretty safe. The final question is whether he can earn the Steelers’ trust enough to trade Rudolph, or if they will be forced to keep four at the expense of depth elsewhere on the roster.
McCarthy said before training camp that Howard will “definitely” be a starter in the league someday. After everything the Steelers have seen from him since then, there is little reason to believe McCarthy has changed his mind. If anything, the continued praise from inside the building suggests the opposite.
With the future of the quarterback position in Pittsburgh still uncertain, it would be a strange decision to move on from a young quarterback the head coach supposedly “loves.”