The Pittsburgh Steelers and their quarterback situation will be one of the bigger storylines to follow throughout training camp next month.
Pittsburgh has four quarterbacks, with two having roster spots all but guaranteed. Obviously Aaron Rodgers will be on the roster, and it feels almost equally as certain that rookie third-round pick Drew Allar will be on the roster, given how high he was drafted. That leaves Mason Rudolph and Will Howard potentially fighting for the final roster spot as the primary backup to Rodgers, and long-time Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly predicts that Pittsburgh will keep Rudolph while cutting Howard in hopes of keeping him on the practice squad.
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“Who makes the final cut, and how QB2 and QB3 are set, will be the talk of training camp,” Kaboly writes. “Rodgers is entrenched as the starter in the final year of his storied career. But considering he’s 41, in his 22nd season, and the Steelers want to develop a long-term quarterback between third-round pick Allar and Will Howard, it’s not a simple process. For the record, I would keep all four quarterbacks, but the Steelers don’t seem very interested in doing that. McCarthy has never done that in his 18 years as a head coach. Regardless of what happens in the preseason, Rudolph and Allar slot in at QB2 and QB3, with Howard the odd man out. Trying to stash Howard on the practice squad might not be that daunting, considering he was a sixth-round pick with no reps to speak of as a rookie.”
Kaboly once again noted that he doesn’t believe the Steelers should cut Howard, and that he would keep four signal-callers. However, he does think Pittsburgh will not put the former sixth-round pick on the 53-man roster.
“I would absolutely keep four QBs on the roster. I don’t believe the Steelers will, hence Howard to practice squad (if possible),” Kaboly posts on X. “You don’t cut Rudolph after loading up roster in offseason with a new coach in place while you have a 22-year vet as your starting QB.”
It’s not unprecedented that a team keeps four quarterbacks to start the season. The New Orleans Saints did so in 2021, although it feels a bit rich to count Taysom Hill as a quarterback. In totality, though, it is very rare, as only five teams have done so since 2013.
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