The Pittsburgh Steelers did not put together a strong body of work in their second preseason contest against the New York Jets on Friday night, as they suffered a shutout 17-0 defeat. While the Steelers rested most of their starters, the guys who took the field for the team did not put their best foot forward.
At the quarterback position, Will Howard and Drew Allar each played one half each, but both guys had their own struggles, as Howard threw a pair of interceptions while Allar was sacked twice. Despite the fact that neither guy played particularly well in this game, a new report indicates that Pittsburgh already knows whether or not both of these guys will make the team’s initial 53-man roster.
Will Howard, Drew Allar Set to Make Steelers’ 53-Man Roster
Another offseason of quarterback drama in Pittsburgh resulted in Aaron Rodgers pushing off retirement for one more year to lead the team’s offense. He made it abundantly clear, though, that this will be his final season in the pros, meaning that the Steelers are going to have to find their quarterback of the future at some point very soon.
Behind Rodgers on the depth chart are Mason Rudolph, Howard, and Allar. With both Howard and Allar showing off their potential throughout training camp, trade rumors have swirled around Rudolph, but head coach Mike McCarthy made it sound like he is going to hold on to the veteran backup. That led to all eyes turning to Howard and Allar, as many folks believed they could be competing for the final spot on the depth chart.
Most teams carry three quarterbacks, but it’s not out of the question that the Steelers could ride into the 2026 season with four at their disposal. According to team insider Gerry Dulac, it sounds like that’s exactly what they plan to do, as he reported Pittsburgh made a final decision on Howard and Allar’s status before it even took the field for its preseason clash with New York.
“There will be one more preseason game to determine how many quarterbacks Steelers coach Mike McCarthy will keep on his 53-man roster. But he doesn’t need another game to know this: Will Howard and Drew Allar will be on the team. That decision was reached even before Friday night’s 17-0 preseason loss against the New York Jets, team sources told the Post-Gazette,” Gerry Dulac reported.
Steelers Solidify Quarterback Depth Chart Ahead of Preseason Finale
GettyQuarterbacks Drew Allar and Will Howard are competing for roles at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.
Pittsburgh could conceivably release Howard or Allar to free up a roster spot that could be used to fill another area of need, but the problem is that if either one of them gets cut, there’s a very good chance they aren’t going to pass through waivers without getting claimed. The Steelers obviously don’t want to lose either one of them, so the simple solution is to keep them both.
That could handcuff the front office a bit when it comes to mapping out the rest of the 53-man roster but if it truly feels good about Howard and Allar, it could simply look to trade Rudolph. That doesn’t seem likely to happen, so to begin the 2026 campaign at least, Pittsburgh is going to have four quarterbacks on its roster.
Insider Reveals Steelers Have Already Made a Big QB Decision After 2nd Preseason Game