Will Howard makes bold claim about situation with Steelers amid uncertainty about his future

Clarity regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback situation emerged when it was reported on Thursday that Aaron Rodgers will soon visit the club and, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, will "likely" play for Pittsburgh during the upcoming season. 

Rodgers' long-anticipated return resurrected questions about the statuses of backup Mason Rudolph and 2025 rookie Will Howard, as 2026 third-round draft selection Drew Allar likely already has a spot on the Pittsburgh roster. During the latest edition of "The Christian Kuntz Podcast," Howard indicated that he's quite happy to be working with new head coach Mike McCarthy this spring. 

Will Howard grateful to have "QB guru" Mike McCarthy as head coach

"You wanna talk about a QB guru," Howard said about McCarthy, per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "I mean, he's showing me clips of Joe Montana back in '93 and Rich Gannon and all these guys. We're watching clips from the 1993 AFC Championship Game installing some stuff. It is like vintage, OG, really good stuff. True football guy through and through." 

McCarthy raised eyebrows when he said shortly after the Steelers drafted Allar that the coach thinks Howard is "going to be definitely a starter in this league." That comment led outsiders to assume that Howard will be Rodgers' primary backup and that Rudolph will eventually be made available to other teams. 

However, some have suggested that Pittsburgh could move on from Howard if he fails to impress from springtime workouts through the end of August. 

Will Howard believes he's already improved due to working with Mike McCarthy

"I've already learned a ton from him and his footwork nuances that he kind of has implemented for me and for Mason and for everybody," Howard said about how he's improved while having McCarthy as his head coach. "Me being a young guy, I'm kind of still trying to figure out my identity in this thing and who I'm gonna be, and he's really kind of shaping that and helping me shape who I am as a player. So I just think I'm in probably the best scenario I could possibly be in."

Howard took no regular-season snaps as a rookie, so one can only guess if he truly is in "the best scenario" as Rodgers' return draws near. On paper, only Rodgers and Allar are guaranteed places on the depth chart as long as they stay healthy. Unless Rudolph makes it known that he doesn't want to serve as Pittsburgh's QB2, Howard could become surplus to requirements for the Steelers before he ever takes a meaningful NFL snap.