The Pittsburgh Steelers closed out their preseason with a tough 28-27 loss to the Bills, but that’s not the biggest head-scratcher coming out of Orchard Park. Head coach Mike McCarthy practically confirmed they’re eyeing keeping *four* quarterbacks on the active roster, and honestly, you have to wonder what they’re thinking.
Four Quarterbacks Is A Mess, Coach McCarthy
When McCarthy was asked if all four quarterbacks did enough to secure a roster spot, his response to Brooke Pryor was, “Very accurate evaluation on your part. We’ve got two vets to win with, and two guys we’re excited about their future.” While nothing is official yet, that sure sounds like they’re ready to roll with a quartet of signal-callers. This approach just makes next to no sense, especially when you look at how one particular bubble player performed.
Will Howard’s Numbers Didn’t Exactly Pop
Let’s talk about Will Howard. If he had blown everyone away in exhibition play, maybe you could understand. But he didn’t. Howard finished the preseason 26-of-40 with two touchdowns to three interceptions. Those two touchdowns? One was a 13-yard screen pass that Germie Bernard took to the house after making the first tackler miss. The other was practically a handoff to Lake McRee, who dove over several players to get into the end zone. Sure, he had a couple of good throws, like the pass to Robert Tonyan on the goal line in Week 1 against the Packers and a 16-yard completion to Ben Skowronek over the middle in Week 2. But let’s be real: Howard was comfortably the fourth-best quarterback for the Steelers all summer. If he truly “popped,” Mason Rudolph wouldn’t even be a consideration.
The Logical Move: Practice Squad
The logical play here is obvious: cut Howard and sign him to the practice squad once he clears waivers. Everyone in the Howard camp seems convinced he’d get claimed, but that’s highly unlikely. Roster cutdowns don’t see a ton of claims. Last year, only 29 players were claimed. The year before that, it was 27, according to Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. The highest number of claims since 2015 was 44, and the low was 17 back in 2020. Howard didn’t do anything this preseason to warrant a team putting in a claim for him. He’d be back on the practice squad in a heartbeat. The Steelers have until Sunday night at 6:00 EST to trim their roster down to 53 players. Let’s hope they make the smart call and don’t waste an active roster spot on a fourth quarterback.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Behind the Steel Curtain.
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