The Pittsburgh Steelers will start quarterback Will Howard in their preseason Week 2 matchup against the New York Jets, and this is a great decision in my opinion for coach Mike McCarthy. Howard gets a golden opportunity to prove he belongs on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster with what should be an extended look behind the first-team offense.

Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph don’t need the reps

For one, Aaron Rodgers said it himself: what is preseason football going to do for him at this point of his career other than get him hurt? He doesn’t need any of these reps. He knows this offense inside and out. He knows many of these receivers inside and out through weeks of training camp, if not playing with them last season. DK Metcalf, Ben Skowronek- the Steelers don’t need Rodgers out there.

Mason Rudolph falls into a similar category. As McCarthy said, he saw what he needed to see from Rudolph. We know what Mason Rudolph is. We have nearly a decade of evidence pointing to what Rudolph is as an NFL quarterback.

What we do not know about, or at least don’t have a large enough sample size on, is Will Howard and Drew Allar.

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The real question: will Pittsburgh keep 4 quarterbacks?

Drew Allar is a lock to make this roster. Beyond the fact that he had arguably the best preseason start of any of the rookie quarterbacks, you don’t spend a third-round pick on a quarterback who’s somewhat of a developmental prospect and cut him after his first training camp. He’s always going to make the roster.

So the question really then becomes whether the Steelers are going to keep four quarterbacks. Howard now has the stage to show Pittsburgh why they should do exactly that.

If Howard is going to be out there as the first-team quarterback, the Steelers are probably going to have most of the first-team offensive line out there as well. Obviously, Metcalf and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. are dealing with injuries that could keep them sidelined. But you’re probably going to see Germie Bernard, Roman Wilson, tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, and some mix of first-team running backs alongside Howard.

Howard has earned this opportunity

This setup gives Howard every opportunity to show that he can be a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. Did he show that last week? Yes. We broke down the film, showed the ups, the downs, and everything in between. For the most part, he had a really good game. It was just that Aller, being a rookie who had arguably the best start of any first-year quarterback in the NFL, was a little bit better.

Now Howard will most likely have the entirety of the first half to go out there, lead the offense, orchestrate some drives, and show what he can do. I love this move for the Steelers and for Howard. If he can stack another strong performance with better talent around him, the case for carrying four quarterbacks into the regular season gets a lot stronger.