Steelers A to Z: National title-winning QB Will Howard eager to learn pro game

Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

QB WILL HOWARD

Experience/age: Rookie, 23

Contract status: $902,025 cap hit in 2025, signed through 2028

The past: An all-state quarterback from Downingtown West High School, Howard wasn’t offered a scholarship by Penn State (or Pitt, for that matter). He ended up at Kansas State, where he ascended to all-conference recognition while leading the Wildcats to the Big 12 championship. Taking advantage of the NIL/transfer climate, Howard for his final season ended up at Ohio State in 2024. Almost handpicked by that program to join a roster constructed with a national championship-or-bust mentality, Howard and the Buckeyes ultimately — not without some regular-season hiccups — achieved that goal.

Entering the NFL draft with that national title ring in addition to the experience of 44 college starts, the 6-foot-4, 236-pound Howard was the eighth quarterback selected. Projected as a fourth- or fifth-round pick by the NFL’s official draft site and most “mock” drafts, the Steelers selected him with the ninth pick of the sixth round at 185th overall.

QB Will Howard seems genuinely *really* excited to be a Steeler pic.twitter.com/p1uQCwSwLT

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 9, 2025

2025 outlook: When Howard arrived, he was one of only three quarterbacks on the roster. Since, of course, the inevitability of Aaron Rodgers signing made for a complete position room. Rodgers obviously is the starter, and Mason Rudolph is a quality QB2. Howard ostensibly is competing with former college teammate Skylar Thompson to be the third stringer. In reality, it would take a complete dud of a training camp or preseason (aside from injury) for Howard not to win that job.

Fans who before Rodgers signed clamored for Howard to start in 2025 were getting way ahead of themselves. As a sixth-round pick, Howard simply has to make the team first. As the starter for the national champions, he’s a high-profile name. And he has some tools, so it’s at least in the realm of possibility he could start at some point in the NFL. But with a 41-year-old (Rodgers) and a soon-to-be 30-year-old (Rudolph) ahead of him on the depth chart, Howard and the Steelers can both afford to have him go through a “redshirt” year.