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Can Steelers Develop Will Howard AND a Rookie QB?
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- Can Steelers Develop Will Howard AND a Rookie QB?
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard at practice on Oct. 23, 2025. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy did not rule out the possibility of developing two quarterbacks at the same time during his pre-draft press conference on Monday.
“Oh, definitely. I think that speaks to the staff,” McCarthy said when asked about developing two QBs at the same time. “There’s a number of coaches that have been with me in the past. We pulled out some old Tom Arth quarterback school film from 2006 today. So, we’re fine as far as the training environment that we’re trying to establish. I think it’s a position, we speak on it as the most important position in football, and I think it’s important to always try to add to it as you can.”
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The Steelers met with four known passers at the NFL Scouting Combine — Alabama’s Ty Simpson , Penn State’s Drew Allar , LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Miami ’s Carson Beck . Beck and Allar were also brought in for pre-draft visits, along with Cole Payton of North Dakota State and Taylen Green of Arkansas .
Will Howard and Mason Rudolph have split reps the first two days of bonus minicamp.
“I think you’ve gotta decide what you want. What you believe in? What’s the directions of your offense. I, as a quarterback coach, would like to work with any of these guys,” McCarthy said. “I feel that way. I believe in starting lines and floors and ceilings, and things like that. But where you play, it was nice to be out there on the field today. We were blessed with a nice wind. It was a nice reminder that we get the ball in the outdoors, because I’ve been an indoor guy for five years. I think it’s really, you’ve gotta decide what you want, and this class has that. It’s not the biggest class that I’ve seen, but I think you’ve gotta decide, really what you’re looking for, and there’s guys here for that.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard during a practice on Dec. 17, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports recently revealed an interesting piece of information on what the Steelers’ front office is looking for in their next quarterback.
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“Spent time with people in the front office there for a couple of years now. Talked to people in the front office. I cannot tell you how much they complained about the limited athletic profile of Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett , who they had and tried to make a starter,” Robinson said Wednesday on the Inside Coverage podcast. “I’m sorry, it pushes me off of Ty Simpson for the Steelers.
“Maybe they address it later in the draft, I just don’t think they go for the shortish, kind of limited profile player they’ve had before. They do not want another Pickett, Trubisky, someone who’s like, ‘Oh, well deal with the limitations of this player.’ I don’t think they want that at quarterback anymore.”
The Steelers missed on Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Pittsburgh has been paying for it ever since. They certainly want to avoid another situation like that, as that selection has set the franchise back at least five years. All signs point to the Steelers running it back with 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers . Given his age, the Steelers obviously will not be getting a mobile Rodgers if he returns for another season.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Can Steelers Develop Will Howard AND a Rookie QB?
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