![\"9053030_web1_ap25286176157714\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/9053030_web1_AP25286176157714.jpg\"\/ "\\"9053030_web1_ap25286176157714\\"")
<\/p>\nLet\u2019s get ahead of the clamor: Don\u2019t start Will Howard.<\/p>\n
Mason Rudolph did fine deputizing for an injured Aaron Rodgers in the second half of the Steelers\u2019 home win over Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
Rudolph posted similar stats, maybe a bit better, and directed a game-clinching, fourth-quarter drive.<\/p>\n
Rudolph did better under pressure than Rodgers had. He stood tall, stepped up in the pocket and looked more willing to take a hit. Rodgers has been antsy under the rush lately, often quickly dumping out of plays. Perhaps Rodgers knows these Steelers aren\u2019t what he\u2019d hoped and is making \u201cbusiness decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to suggest Rodgers shouldn\u2019t start the minute his injured wrist permits. The job is his.<\/p>\n
But if that wrist keeps Rodgers out for a bit, Rudolph is more than capable.<\/p>\n
Rudolph should have been the Steelers\u2019 starting quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season.<\/p>\n
The Steelers wouldn\u2019t have done worse and might have done better. Management has mangled the quarterback position dating back to then (and before), the idiocy reaching its peak when Kenny Pickett got drafted in 2022\u2019s first round when no other team would have done so. Selecting Pickett set the Steelers back at least five years.<\/p>\n
Rudolph\u2019s current status is Howard\u2019s ceiling: Quality backup.<\/p>\n
But with Rodgers sidelined, a vocal minority is predictably yelping for Howard to start.<\/p>\n
Howard, drafted in this year\u2019s sixth round, took zero snaps in exhibition games due to injury. He only returned to practice Oct. 22, to the active roster this past week. Howard is hardly up to speed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AP <\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers injured quarterback Will Howard sits on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite winning a national championship at Ohio State, Howard wasn\u2019t picked until the sixth round for a reason. He\u2019s not much of a pro prospect. Charisma doesn\u2019t convert third downs. He\u2019s skittish under pressure, and his accuracy is sporadic.<\/p>\n
Howard was surrounded by college football\u2019s very best at Ohio State. The situation with the Steelers does not correspond, especially on the offensive line.<\/p>\n
Shedeur Sanders was projected to go in the first round of the 2025 draft but dropped to the fifth round, going to Cleveland with the 144th overall pick.<\/p>\n
Sanders showed why his draft stock plummeted when he made his NFL debut this past Sunday vs. Baltimore: 4 for 16, one interception, two sacks for 27 yards, passer rating of 13.5. Sanders looked absolutely lost.<\/p>\n
Sure, he\u2019s only a rookie. But we kept getting told that Sanders should have gone higher, that he\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n
Tom Brady being a sixth-round pick is often cited.<\/p>\n
Sanders certainly didn\u2019t look much like Brady, and Sanders went a round earlier.<\/p>\n
Brady is the exception, not the rule. Late-round quarterbacks can strike gold, but it\u2019s not the way to bet.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five of the NFL\u2019s starting quarterbacks are first-round picks. Three more are second-round choices.<\/p>\n
Rudolph was a third-round selection in 2018. The Steelers allegedly had him projected as a first-round pick.<\/p>\n
One hundred and eighty-four choices were made before the Steelers took Howard. He isn\u2019t the guy. Not now, not ever.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing wrong with being a solid backup. It pays pretty well. Ask Rudolph.<\/p>\n
But, yeah, give the kid a chance. Like the Browns did Sanders.<\/p>\n
Actually, Mike Tomlin might.<\/p>\n
Not to start. But maybe Howard plays if Rudolph struggles.<\/p>\n
Tomlin has never given Rudolph proper respect, and he\u2019s clueless when it comes to quarterbacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s get ahead of the clamor: Don\u2019t start Will Howard. Mason Rudolph did fine deputizing for an injured…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-297634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}