Unless something goes wrong for the Pittsburgh Steelers the rest of the 2025 season, rookie quarterback Will Howard will not play. While he will make his debut on the team’s active roster during Week 11, Howard is the QB3.
The 2025 sixth-rounder will only see the field if the Steelers experience multiple quarterback injuries.
But Howard still found being included on the team’s active roster for the rest of 2025 vital for his future. The rookie quarterback expressed his thanks to the organization for the opportunity while speaking to reporters Thursday.
“It’s a blessing,” Howard said, via TribLive.com’s Chris Adamski. “I’m really thankful that they made the decision to … activate me because … we have (starting QB Aaron Rodgers), so it’s not necessarily like I’m coming up to play (in a game) but it’s more for my growth and development.
“That means a lot that they were willing to do that for me, and I just don’t want to make them regret it.”
Four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers has started the first nine games this season for the Steelers. Fellow veteran Mason Rudolph has served as his backup.
Howard will be in uniform as the team’s QB3 on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Will Howard Thankful to Make Return for Steelers
Howard returned to practice on October 22, with the Steelers opening his 21-day practice window.
The team could have allowed his 21-day window to pass without activating him. Doing that would have enabled the Steelers to keep additional depth at another position.
But there’s future value in Howard practicing for the rest of 2025. That’s obviously what the quarterback preferred, and the Steelers agreed. The team officially activated the rookie Wednesday.
Howard expressed that he recognizes he likely won’t play this season. But that makes the opportunities he receives in practice all that more important.
“Wednesday, Thursday, Friday are my game days, so I’m out there trying to make every rep as competitive and as real as possible,” Howard said, via Adamski. “I think I’ve done a pretty good job of it so far, but I’ve just got to keep it going. It’s a day-by-day process. I know Rome’s not going to be built in a day, but just if I can get a little bit better every single day, that’s all that matters.”
Howard Learning From 4-Time MVP Aaron Rodgers
Over the spring and summer, Howard addressed how valuable it was for him to develop behind Rodgers. Some pundits questioned what kind of mentor Rodgers might be, but Howard has told reporters on multiple occasions that Rodgers has been great to him.
On Thursday, Adamski posted on X that Howard is documenting as much knowledge from Rodgers as possible.
“Will Howard says he has a Word document in which he records any thoughts or nuggets or advice that Aaron Rodgers offers him this season,” wrote Adamski.
The Steelers drafted Howard at No. 185 overall in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. After starting his career at Kansas State, Howard transferred to Ohio State, where he won the national championship during his final college season.
The quarterback led the Big Ten with a 73% completion percentage, 4,010 passing yards and 35 touchdowns while taking Ohio State to a 14-2 record last year.
Howard missed the 2025 preseason and spent the first 10 weeks of the regular season on IR because of a hand injury.
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