On one side, NFL teams are hustling with roster cuts and figuring out their final number before August 30. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy has a unique problem with four quarterbacks on the team instead of three. In his eyes, however, he is happy to root for more to join that list and to develop them all.

“I’d take six QBs in the building if it worked,” he said in a video shared on X by Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer for The Athletic.

The Steelers have four quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar. Rodgers is the veteran starter, Rudolph is the backup, and Howard and Allar line up behind him. Most NFL teams usually keep only three quarterbacks on their active roster, but head coach Mike McCarthy believes the Steelers can keep all four.

The problem is that NFL teams have limited practice time. They usually have only three practices each week, and each session is less than three hours. However, McCarthy does not believe that having an extra QB will interfere with his practice plans.

“If you have four quarterbacks in that room, especially the quality we have right now, I think it only enhances what the regular season would look like,” said McCarthy. “I mean, we’re not on a time restraint. You know, once the season starts, thank god, so we can be able to do more before practice, you know, after practice, so our quarterback school component can kick up some.”

And McCarthy followed through on his plan to give all four quarterbacks a fair chance. At the start of training camp, Aaron Rodgers took the first-team reps, while Mason Rudolph worked with the second team. Will Howard and Drew Allar shared the third-team reps.

But back in July, he explained that Aaron Rodgers would have a limited number of practice reps, while Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar would get more opportunities to work. This allowed each quarterback to show the coaches what he could do.

McCarthy limited Rodgers’ practice time mainly because of his age. That gave other QBs reps.

This is not the first time McCarthy focused on developing the entire quarterback room. He coached the Packers from 2006 to 2018, working with quarterbacks such as Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Flynn. Rodgers spent three seasons as Favre’s backup before becoming the Packers’ starter in 2008, when Favre left for the Jets.

Last week, the head coach said he had seen enough promise from Rudolph and shifted focus onto developing the two junior QBs. Heading into the final preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, McCarthy has a clear plan for the QBs. Rodgers and Rudolph may or may not play, but he will focus on giving more time to Howard and Allar.

“Just to reiterate what I just said, we’ll do the play time with the team today, but we definitely will focus on those two young guys,” said McCarthy.

Before facing the Bills, McCarthy also made a few other changes to the roster earlier this week.

Mike McCarthy Makes Key Roster Moves Days Before Deadline

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers brought Jalen Ramsey back from the PUP list and signed two new players: cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau and running back Alex Tecza, both undrafted free agents.

Guilbeau played college football at Texas from 2022 to 2025, recording 124 total tackles, one sack, one interception, and 10 passes defended. In April, he signed with the Carolina Panthers as a UDFA before being put on the non-football injury list in July and waived a day later.

As for Tecza, he played alongside Steelers seventh-round pick Eli Heidenrich at Mt. Lebanon and Navy. He participated in a rookie minicamp in the spring, but was not signed to a contract. He returned to Navy to serve as a graduate assistant to help the program, where he recorded 2,687 total yards from running and receiving (41 receptions) and scored 26 touchdowns.

The Steelers also made two more changes to their roster. They waived defensive back Israel Mukuamu with an injury settlement, and released rookie kicker Laith Marjan.

It is not yet clear how much Guilbeau and Tecza will play against the Bills on Thursday. They have very little time to learn the Steelers’ plays and are likely to compete mainly for practice squad spots rather than the 53-man roster, which will be finalized by August 30.