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Rookie Will Howard could be in line for a role reversal with a Steelers quarterback whom he was a teammate of during college

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated May 8, 2025 7:16 PM ET

Will Howard may have been a sixth-round pick, but he doesn't care.

He aims to come in and cement himself among the Steelers' current crop of quarterbacks, already doing what many rookies won't to get ahead.

And if he wants to level up the depth chart, he's going to have to flip the script on his former college teammate...

Will Howrad teaming up with Skylar Thompson again

"Oh yeah," Will Howard told Ben Roethlisberger when asked if he and Skylar Thompson had a good relationship dating back to their time together at Kansas State. "He hosted me on my official visit. He was there my first two years, and I kind of came in as a backup role for him, my first two years at K-State. So he's my guy."

Howard may have been Skylar Thompson's backup at Kansas State, but he has no plans of continuing to ride the pine on the Steelers, or at least not behind Thompson. Howard made headlines earlier in the week when he contacted the Steelers coaching staff for the playbook in the days after the draft despite them giving him the weekend off.

You can tell when you watch the most recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, that Howard carries a massive chip on his shoulder. He was upset that Penn State didn't offer him coming out of high school and again when he entered the transfer portal.

He took accountability for his brain burp at the end of the Oregon-OSU game during the regular season, and you can see his ability to bounce back from adversity from that game, to the Michigan loss, and after he fell in the NFL Draft.

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Howard may never be a long-term starter. His ceiling might be a spot guy, that you throw in as a fringe starter when your number one is injured. But he has all the makings of someone who will hold down the number two role for a decade plus on a team.

And with Howard, I wouldn't be surprised if he's occupying that role sooner rather than later with the Pittsburgh Steelers.