Will Howard is Having a Blast at Steelers Training Camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their starting quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and their likely backup in Mason Rudolph. QB3 is up for grabs, though, as rookie Will Howard and veteran Skylar Thompson battle for the final spot. Fans have a clear favorite.

As Will Howard took the field for team drills during what has been the most attended practice thus far, the crowd roared. He completed the pass, causing another spark from the fans. He had no idea it was for him, but he certainly felt the energy.

"I'm just trying to go out there and execute. I genuinely did not know that was for me," Howard said. "I thought Joey Porter did something on the sideline but that's cool."

Howard isn't being handed anything by the Steelers. He came into Organized Team Activities and minicamp being the fourth quarterback in reps, and didn't move up the chain at all. On the opening day of training camp, he remained in the fourth spot only for half a practice, before overtaking Thompson for third team reps.

Who knows if Howard moves up any further, but you can tell he's comfortable out there. The sixth-round rookie hasn't seemed like the pressure is too high, and hasn't had any glarring mistakes through the first few days of practice.

Instead, he has moments where he throws touchdowns to J.J. Galbreath during 7-shots and pumps his fist in excitement.

He's just having fun.

"I'm having a blast," Howard told Steelers On SI. "It's my dream. It's my childhood dream. So, I'm trying to remember that every day while also keeping it a business and taking care of business, and executing. But at the end of the day, man, it's fun, it's football. I'm playing a game I've been playing since I was seven years old and I'm loving it."

Howard has a hill to climb if he's ever going to be the Steelers' starting quarterback. The team probably has their eyes on the 2026 NFL Draft class to add a first-round talent, but that's almost a full year from now. A lot can happen.

Right now, eyes are on Howard. Excitement surrounds Howard. And the rookie isn't backing down from any of it.

He's ready to prove to not just the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans, but to the NFL, that he's capable of playing at a high level in this league. And so far, he's shown he's got the confidence to do so.

"I think the thing I've been focusing on the most through this offseason and this training camp is just throwing the ball through people," Howard said on what he's looking to improve on. "I think a big knock on me through the draft process was my arm strength, and I don't neccassarily agree with that.

"I think sometimes, I take some velocity off the ball maybe to place it or to be too accurate, but I've been trying to focus on throwing the ball through people. Even if there's a guy wide open, still putting velocity on that thing, keeping all my cleats in the ground and using the ground and using my power to really get everything on every throw that I can."