Steelers Going to Surprise Us With QB Decision

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't have the quarterback showing they had hoped for against the New York Jets. In fact, it was so bad that many admitted it may be time to trim the fat of the room and head into the season with just three options.

That group of "many" doesn't include the Steelers.

Even after Will Howard threw two interceptions against the Jets, the Steelers feel pretty content with keeping all four QBs this season. According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac, head coach Mike McCarthy has already decided that he's keeping all four quarterbacks this season, and that Howard's play didn't change anything.

That has remained the belief over the last week or so. At some point, something about keeping all four passers became realistic and felt like McCarthy's plan from the start.

Does It Makes Sense?

Not anymore. Howard's poor play against the Jets should remove him from most teams' list of candidates they'd add during the waiver claim window. After that, adding him back to the practice squad should be easy, and it'd be even more surprising than keeping four QBs if he chose to sign elsewhere instead of Pittsburgh.

The Steelers don't need a 53rd roster spot to win a Super Bowl. Their last linebacker or final offensive line position isn't going to be the deciding factor between being a contender or not. But it does help to have more even depth on the roster than making two quarterbacks inactive on game day.

The Steelers should instead be comfortable putting Howard on the practice squad and going from there. Maybe in a year, Howard improves enough to challenge for a starting job. Maybe he doesn't.

In the meantime, Pittsburgh should have faith in Drew Allar, who's shown flashes during his two preseason games and has developed a lot since he showed up for rookie minicamp in the spring.

Officially a New Era in Pittsburgh

Things really are different in Pittsburgh this season. In years past, Mike Tomlin would never think of keeping four quarterbacks on the roster, no matter how good or bad some of them looked. It just wasn't a thing that made sense.

Well, McCarthy is an offensive coach and a quarterback developer. He wants options. And it seems like he has two that he likes and wants to continue working with.

Three games aren't going to be enough, so he's ready to keep four around throughout the season and figure out how that changes his team.