PITTSBURGH — It’s been a rocky start to the NFL career of Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard. The team’s recent sixth-round pick had an impressive debut with the organization during rookie minicamp, organized team activities (OTAs) and the opening of preseason, but after fracturing the pinky on his throwing hand, it all started going downhill quickly. The news kept coming as he was placed on the Reserved/Injured List to begin the 2025 regular season.
As a result of the move, the Steelers rookie will miss at least the first four games of the schedule. Despite the known absence, Howard provided an encouraging update regarding his health. He stopped by The Pat McAfee Show and informed the host that he’s about to take the next step in his rehabilitation and is trending toward returning to the field soon.
“I’m back to throwing this week,” he told McAfee. “So it’s feeling good, going in the right direction.”
The news is one of the first positive updates regarding Howard over the last few weeks. Since sustaining his injury, his place on the roster has come under fire. He missed all three preseason contests, losing out on precious evaluation time and practice reps in the process.
When he was placed on IR, speculation also began that his entire season might be lost. While the first four weeks he’s guaranteed to miss, there is a chance that he remains on IR for the entirety of the 2025 campaign. With this latest development, it throws some water on the idea that he’ll miss all of the regular season due to this injury.
The 23-year-old Howard has a strong resume as a rookie in the NFL. He led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the NCAA National Championship last year as a senior, drastically raising his draft value. The Steelers were thrilled to land him in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Especially as other franchises reached for quarterbacks earlier, they seemed to land a prospect with at least NFL backup capabilities from an unlikely place.
The real pressure on Howard will come in 2026. Operating under the assumption that Aaron Rodgers will stay for a single year in Pittsburgh, the starting quarterback race opens up once again next summer. The prevailing thought is that the Steelers will target and select a franchise QB from the uber-talented 2026 NFL Draft class, but Howard will also be in the competition. Getting healthy now and learning all he can as a rookie will only help his odds when that race begins next summer. Thankfully for the Steelers rookie, his injury is progression nicely and he may be able to rejoin the 53-man roster soon.
Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI to get all your daily Pittsburgh Steelers news, interviews, breakdowns and more!
