The Pittsburgh Steelers received pushback for their decision to place rookie quarterback Will Howard on injured reserve to begin the 2025 NFL regular season. With that decision, Howard will not be able to practice with the team during at least September.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly argued the decision could lead to 2025 being a “lost year” for the rookie signal-caller.
Howard didn’t specifically address that criticism, but during an appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, the quarterback explained that not much will change for him because of his hand injury.
The 2025 campaign was supposed to be a year of learning for Howard. He suggested that will remain the case with him sidelined to begin the regular season.
“I think all along I was looking at this season as a developmental year. I think we all kind of were with the Steelers,” Howard said. “Obviously, you don’t bring in Aaron Rodgers for no reason. He’s a guy that’s coming in to be the guy, at least for this year. We don’t know what it will look like going forward.
“But right now, I’m going into this season saying, “I want to learn everything I possibly can from Aaron. Just watch the way he goes about his business.’”
The rookie quarterback was performing well during Steelers training camp. Even before that, there was considerable fan and media hype around the future of the first-year signal-caller.
But Howard sustained a broken pinky finger on August 5. He missed the entire preseason because of the injury.
The Steelers initially kept Howard, along with three other quarterbacks, on their 53-man roster Tuesday. Then on Thursday, the Steelers placed Howard on injured reserve.
The earliest the rookie quarterback can come off IR is after Week 4.
Steelers’ Will Howard Trusting the Process of a ‘Developmental Year’
Kaboly and other pundits aren’t going to disagree with Howard’s point on Aaron Rodgers. When the Steelers signed the four-time MVP, that killed any possibility of Howard being a surprising Week 1 starter for Pittsburgh as a rookie.
But pundits wanted to see what Howard could do during the preseason. The hand injury prevented the rookie from that opportunity. The IR stint will now rob Howard of any team practice repetitions in September.
During his latest ESPN appearance, Howard didn’t deny the disappointment of missing the preseason. But he is staying level-headed and positive that missing his first exhibition campaign won’t have negative ramifications on his career.
“I gotta trust it and understand that this is all part of my development,” the rookie quarterback said. “In the long term, in the grand scheme of things, I just gotta keep working. Use this year as a developmental year.”
In other words, nothing really changes, according to the rookie. Howard wasn’t going to start in 2025 anyway, and he can learn from Rodgers whether he’s practicing or not.
Potential Impact Rookie QB’s IR Stint Could Have
The day before Howard landed on IR, Kaboly was the most adamant about it being a bad idea.
“I don’t agree with it whatsoever,” Kaboly said, via Steelers Depot’s Matthew Marczi. “I think Will Howard needs to be fed as much as he can be.
“Even if it’s for four weeks, up to seven weeks, whatever it could be depending on when they start the clock, it’s a lost season.”
It’s not shocking Howard doesn’t have this attitude. Again, with the mindset that 2025 was going to be a developmental year anyway, then an IR stint isn’t as big of a deal.
Even if Howard could practice at the beginning of the 2025 regular season, it wouldn’t be with the second-team offense. Mason Rudolph is entering the season as the team’s backup to Rodgers.
But Kaboly’s point is still warranted. If one sees Howard as needing as many opportunities at practice as possible, then the IR stint is not ideal.
While Howard could return after Week 4, there’s no guarantee he will. The Steelers might prefer to keep Skylar Thompson as QB3.
If that’s the case, there’s nothing preventing the Steelers from simply leaving Howard on IR for many more weeks.
Should that happen, Howard will have to learn everything he possibly can from the sidelines at practice.
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