The Pittsburgh Steelers preseason finale will be another important game for quarterback Will Howard. But it won’t impact whether or not he makes the team’s roster to begin the 2026 regular season.
That’s what three veteran Pittsburgh sports journalists, Gerry Dulac, Mike Prisuta and Bob Labriola, said during a pregame radio appearance on WDVE Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Steelers Depot’s official X account shared the update.
The three insiders reported the Steelers plan to keep all four quarterbacks they have on their roster. That includes Howard, who some pundits have speculated as a cut candidate this month.
Other pundits considered fellow quarterback Mason Rudolph on the roster bubble.
“Gerry Dulac, Mike Prisuta and Bob Labriola all said on DVE pregame show that they believe the Steelers have already decided to keep all four QBs on the 53-man roster,” wrote Steelers Depot on X.
Howard had an impressive showing in his preseason debut two weeks ago against the Green Bay Packers. In Week 2, though, Howard threw two interceptions versus the New York Jets.
The Steelers will face the Buffalo Bills in their preseason finale Thursday night. Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday that Howard and rookie Drew Allar will split snaps in the matchup.
Will Howard to Start vs. Bills in Preseason Week 3
GettyThe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac and other team insiders reported Thursday the Pittsburgh Steelers plan to keep Will Howard and the team’s other three quarterbacks to begin the regular season.
Rudolph and Aaron Rodgers will not be playing Thursday night against the Bills. Despite having four quarterbacks, that leaves the Steelers will two options to start.
Dulac added during his pregame radio show appearance Howard will start and Allar will play the second half. That was the exact quarterback plan the Steelers deployed versus the Jets last Friday.
The Steelers young signal-callers did not play well in that contest. The other offensive players didn’t do them many favors. The offensive line struggled and receivers ran poor routes and dealt with drops.
But regardless, both Howard and Allar will be looking for much better performances Thursday in Buffalo.
In the first half, Howard completed 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards with the two picks. Allar went 11-for-23 with 110 yards. The Jets sacked Allar three times while Howard went down once.
The Jets shut out the Steelers 17-0. Pittsburgh’s best scoring chance was a missed 44-yard field goal.
Steelers Rookie Drew Allar Will Play in 2nd Half
GettyPittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar will play his third preseason game Thursday night.
Despite the mundane box score, Allar had the best offensive highlight of Week 2 in the preseason. On his second drive, Allar scrambled around to buy time in the pocket and then found fellow rookie Lake McRee streaking down the sideline.
The completion went for a 38-yard gain. The throw should have set up a score, but undrafted rookie kicker Laith Marjan missed the field goal attempt at the end of the series.
On Thursday, Pittsburgh’s young quarterbacks will aim to put together performances as they did in the preseason opener. Allar went 10-for-13 with 153 passing yards and two touchdowns versus the Packers. He also ran for a score.
Howard was 7-for-9 with 86 passing yards.
But according to reporters, however they play Thursday won’t matter in Sunday’s roster decisions. The Steelers will be keeping all four quarterbacks.
Steelers Have Already Made Final Roster Decision on QB Will Howard: Report