The battle between Will Howard and Mason Rudolph will be among the least consequential for 2026, yet it draws headlines. There are many reasons for that, including the fact that each is popular with a segment of the fan base. Of course, having a 42-year-old starting quarterbacks also makes the backup position a little more important.
Mason Rudolph has spent most of his career as a direct backup, while Will Howard has never been on a 53-man roster. Suffering a hand injury in training camp, he spent his rookie season in 2025 on the Reserve/Injured list. In fact, assuming he makes it that far, this year will mark even his first preseason experience.
Regardless of everything he has yet to do, Mike DeFabo is giving him the edge over Rudolph. “I truthfully think that I’m leaning toward Will Howard at this point”, he said recently on The Yinziders podcast. “You know what you have in Mason Rudolph and I think [Mike] McCarthy would want to bet on himself. He bet on himself by bringing in Drew Allar and would be getting on himself again [with Howard]”.
For a sixth-round pick, Will Howard has drawn an unusual amount of attention this offseason. McCarthy has fueled that, talking him up wildly, even after drafting Drew Allar. Aaron Rodgers taking so long to sign also stoked those flames, for better or worse. Entering training camp, though, crunch time is upon Howard. It’s time for him to prove he has what it takes. Even if, as DeFabo questions, it might not be a legitimate competition with Rudolph.
“Do they feel comfortable by the end of camp that [Howard] can be the backup quarterback”? he asked. “Even if maybe Mason Rudolph, technically, if you were making it a true, true competition, might head-to-head have the advantage in some sort of way. You only need to feel like the trajectory of Will Howard is he’s at least a QB2 and you feel like he’s worth keeping and developing more”.
The Steelers are no strangers to “true” quarterback competitions, nor is Mason Rudolph. Many believed he deserved the chance to compete evenly for the starting quarterback job in 2022, which initially went to Mitch Trubisky, then-rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett backing him up.
In this case, whatever competition there is between Will Howard and Rudolph will not feature equal opportunity. Rudolph already knows this, and he understands why. He’s been in the league for a long time, while Howard is an unknown. It goes without saying that you need to learn more about what you don’t know than what you do.
DeFabo thinks the Steelers may have been “tipping their hand in the direction they’re leading” when Mike McCarthy spent the offseason waxing poetic about the many wonders of Will Howard. That’s not to say that he has been dismissive of Mason Rudolph, though. Whatever decision the Steelers reach, it has to work for both the 2026 and the 2027 seasons.