Brooke Pryorapr 26, 2025, 04:15 PM ET
CloseBrooke Pryor is a reporter for ESPN’s NFL Nation, which has been covering the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. She previously Kansas City Chief of Kansas City, Kansas City Star, and Oklahoman University at the University of Oklahoma.
Pittsburgh – Another quarterback down. Are you going to one?
The Pittsburgh Steelers finally added Ohio’s Will Howard in the sixth round (185th overall) to the quarterback room and joined the position group with former Kansas teammates Skyler Thompson and Mason Rudolph. Howard is the first quarterback selected by the Steelers since the team drafted Kenny Pickett with their 20th overall pick and Chris Oradokun in the seventh round of 2022.
The Steelers have revealed they are planning to bring four quarterbacks to training camp. That means one spot remains as the team awaits Aaron Rodgers’ long-term decision. Steelers owner, President Art Rooney II, said Friday that the team will “get May Ward” for the first time free agent Rogers after it was released by the New York Jets earlier this offseason.
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“That’s certainly possible,” coach Mike Tomlin told the NFL Network that he added Rogers on Saturday. “I’m not planning on predicting when IFS and when about not just him, but other potential free agents. We’ve been talking really productively with him. I enjoy talking productively with him and getting to know him.”
In Howard, the Steelers landed quarterbacks in pedigrees that won the national championship after the Buckeyes won the title in the school’s only year. That experience – and his high play during the playoffs, where he threw for 630 yards, five touchdowns and completed 74% of passes, impressed the Steelers’ brass.
“You see him in a big moment of critical possession and even in the National Championship Game, momentum plays to end the game,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “I’m extremely excited to work with Will.”
During the season, Howard completed 73% of his attempts, making him second only to Chedure Sanders in 2024 in completion rate among FBS quarterbacks.
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Howard is also the second Ohio State player drafted this year by the Steelers after the team left linebacker Jack Sawyer in the fourth round.
“Jack and I are as close as the two guys,” Howard said. “I’ve always said this throughout the process: one of the people in Ohio, I’ll be one of them, and I’m very happy that Jack, Captain and I will be going to Pittsburgh together.”
In his career, including four seasons with Kansas, Howard passed 9,795 yards, 83 touchdowns and 35 interceptions, completing 63.8% of passing attempts.
Rooney told Steelers Nation Radio on Friday that the quarterback, who was added to the roster through the draft, will likely be a developmental project. That’s a challenge Howard said he was accepting.
“If you play right away, or if you play on the field, it’s about getting better, not about learning,” Howard said after being chosen. “And anyone in the room with me, anyone who is competing with us, can’t wait to dig into this situation and really put all their energy into this team.
The team didn’t host Howard on a pre-draft visit, but the Steelers gave an official interview with Howard at the NFL Scouting Combine and had dinner with him the night before his pro day in Columbus.
“Being able to spend time with someone helps you learn what they are and how they interact with their teammates and how others think about the facility,” Smith said of what he learned about Howard. “I left, we all did, I was just very impressed with Will.”
