Former Ohio State star Will Howard is officially in a tough spot early in his NFL career after latest development
Will Howard’s one season with the Buckeyes was a special one that he’ll be remembered forever for in Columbus. Now early in his NFL career, Howard is facing some adversity he’ll have to fight through with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
OTAs are off and running around the NFL and it means several former Ohio State Buckeyes are set to be back on the practice fields. Former Buckeye QB Will Howard is one player who is going to have a ton of attention on him.
Howard has yet to play in an NFL game after he was a sixth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2025 NFL Draft. Following a weekend development, Howard is very much fighting for a roster spot with Pittsburgh over the next few months.
Former Ohio State QB Will Howard is in a roster battle early in his NFL career
Aaron Rodgers was the news of the weekend in the NFL when he finally decided to return to the Steelers for one more season. Rodgers will be the starter and you can pencil in third-round pick and former Penn State QB Drew Allar for another roster spot. Howard is left battling it out with veteran Mason Rudolph for the third and final quarterback spot on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster.
The thing to remember here is that Howard is a player former Steelers HC Mike Tomlin was very high on. Tomlin is no longer the Steelers’ head coach and Mike McCarthy is in his place. A new head coach sometimes is a rough transition for players on the back end of the roster because they aren’t connected to players with whom the former regimen had already built a relationship with.
A broken hand in the preseason was a setback for Howard last season and it forced him to miss all of the preseason. The preseason was where Howard was going to get his chance to shine and it couldn’t happen. Howard was eventually brought off the injured reserve last year, but never appeared in a game.
Where does Will Howard go if he’s cut by the Steelers?
Howard has the QB build NFL teams want at 6-foot-4, 236 pounds, and he brings toughness and running ability. Where Howard hurts is that he has a very average NFL arm that limits his upside. There’s a world where the Steelers cut him come August and look to get him back to the practice squad. We should be looking at that as the most realistic scenario.
Another possibility is the Steelers flip Howard to a quarterback-needy team for a late-round draft pick swap closer to cut downs. Howard could be cut and claimed by a team as well, that’s the third option on how this could all play out.
Howard was able to raise his draft stock in Columbus from being a UDFA-level player when he left Kansas State, to being a Day 3 draft pick. Now, Howard is in a spot where he needs to prove himself to stay with the Steelers.