As we come down to the final preseason game for the Pittsburgh Steelers and ultimately cutdown day, I can’t help but wonder a few things regarding the quarterback situation. As you know, Aaron Rodgers is the starter. Mason Rudolph appears to be the number two guy while Will Howard and Drew Allar remain at the bottom of the QB hierarchy. We already know that Allar isn’t going anywhere being that he’s a third round selection in the most recent draft, but as for Howard, things are very much in limbo. This of course brings us to the question of the day; Will the Steelers keep four quarterbacks?
Before we get to that, we have to wonder about some things pertaining to Howard and in a sense, Rudolph. Head Coach Mike McCarthy has been literally glowing in terms of his comments about Rudolph. Being a native Yinzer, I see no reason to believe that McCarthy isn’t being honest. Few people are as brutally up front as the folks from Western Pa. McCarthy is also an NFL Head Coach and has been one for two decades. In other words, he knows how to put a shine on something that doesn’t deserve it. He’s been so over the top about Rudolph that it almost makes me wonder if it isn’t a smoke screen and he’s as good as gone. All that said, I believe Rudy is the backup.
As for Will Howard
Let’s look at this in a different way simply because I do believe it matters. What if Will Howard had stayed at Kansas State or transferred somewhere else and won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl instead of a Natty with Ohio State? Would we still be talking about him as a potential backup or eventual starter in Pittsburgh? This is in no way meant to diminish Howard’s skills or work ethic or past accomplishments but context matters.
Let me throw some names at you. Gino Torretta… Tommie Frazier… Matt Mauck… Jake Coker… Troy Smith…
These are all quarterbacks who won National Championships in college but did little to nothing in their pro careers. Is this a list that Will Howard will some day be on? In other words, what will the narrative be if Howard gets out-right cut on Sunday evening? Much like Kenny Pickett, Howard has defenders who believe he’s truly the Steelers’ next great quarterback. He certainly might be but as of this moment, Drew Allar looked better than he did through the first two preseason games. That suggests to me that McCarthy and company would be just fine going into the season with Rodgers, Rudolph and Allar.
Tomorrow night’s QB rotation has yet to be announced but most believe McCarthy will have Allar take the first half and Howard the second. That’s the opposite of last week. We also do not know what Joe Brady plans to do with his starters defensively so always, preseason games are never an apples to apples comparison.
Look, most of us know what the fear is here. If they cut Howard and he goes on to have a magical career somewhere else then the entire Steelers’ organization will look bad. It would be right up there with not drafting Dan Marino. This is ultimately why they are even tinkering with the idea of keeping four QBs. Going into next season with both Allar and Howard would also present a problem that’s as old as the game itself. When you have two good quarterbacks you actually have none.
The next five days are going to be very interesting in the Steel City.
