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For an article published on Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers reporter Mike DeFabo of The Athletic mentioned that longtime backup Mason Rudolph and 2025 rookie Will Howard will resume competing for the team's No. 2 quarterback job at some point after Steelers players report for training camp on July 28.
Whether or not the Steelers could stash Rudolph, Howard, starter Aaron Rodgers and 2026 third-round draft choice Drew Allar on their active roster this coming September is a topic that has generated discussions on Pittsburgh sports-talk radio programs for months. In his latest mailbag, Bob Labriola of the Steelers' website addressed how first-year Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy will handle the club's quarterback situation in August.
Will four quarterbacks be on the Steelers' 53-man roster?
"I just don't see Coach Mike McCarthy going with four QBs on his initial 53-man roster unless he's getting some big-time play during the preseason from everyone at the position not named Aaron Rodgers," Labriola wrote.
While Rodgers is the Steelers' undisputed QB1 heading into training camp, he has dealt with numerous concerning injury setbacks since the 2022 campaign. Thus, some have assumed that a win-now Steelers team would trust Rudolph to start games this coming fall if Rodgers becomes unavailable for any reason. After all, neither Howard nor Allar has yet taken an NFL regular-season in-game snap.
However, DeFabo is among those who think that Howard "may need to only prove to the coaching staff that he can be a competent backup QB worth developing" during the preseason to win the QB2 job. As for Allar, he is a lock to be on the roster as long as he is healthy.
Why history won't repeat itself for Steelers
"There are some similarities between the Steelers' 1995 QB situation and the 2026 QB situation, in that there were two veterans atop the depth chart (Neil O'Donnell and Mike Tomczak) who might have been going into their final seasons with the team and then two young prospects behind them," Labriola added. "But the 2026 Steelers are a different team in a different era. The issue of whether Coach Bill Cowher wasted a roster spot in 1995 by keeping 4 QBs on the opening 53-man roster became moot when rookie QB Kordell Stewart came out of nowhere to give the team quality play at WR."
In short, it sounds like either Rudolph or Howard could become available to other clubs unless Rodgers or Allar picks up an injury before Pittsburgh's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 27 wraps up.
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