A week ago, Mike McCarthy left the door open to an unusual possibility. The Steelers head coach told reporters he would be willing to carry four quarterbacks on the active roster, though the final 53-man roster was still waiting to take shape. Now the dust has settled, and McCarthy has followed through. Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar have all made the cut, giving Pittsburgh a four-man quarterback room heading into the season.
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For Rodgers, though, the setup is a little unconventional. The Steelers’ QB1 knows exactly what the decision cost the team. Sometimes, roster building means giving up something in one room to keep all the pieces you value in another. McCarthy appears willing to live with that gamble, and Rodgers acknowledged it.
“I was thinking it was a possibility, but I don’t think I’ve been on a roster with four quarterbacks,” Rodgers told reporters. “Obviously, when you do that, you’re taking away a spot from another place in the team. But at the same time, if the best 53 are going to make it, I’m not saying they did.
“I think those four are part of the best 53. So, I’m happy for all those guys. Obviously, looking to the future, those other three guys are going to have a chance when I’m done. And with the growth you saw with Will, and obviously with Drew being drafted so high, but also playing well in camp, I’m not surprised at all, and I’m excited about those guys’ future.”
Aaron Rodgers has already clarified that 2026 will be his last NFL season. Without a tried-and-tested QB in place, the Steelers risked spiraling into the same old conundrum they’ve faced for years. Rodgers had already mentored Will Howard when he came into the league last year, and taken a similar approach with Allar – the 3rd-round pick from this year’s Draft.
Given the promise both of them have shown, either can be the future QB1 while veteran Mason Rudolph holds down the fort as the trusted backup.
In the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, Allar went 10-of-13 for 154 yards, two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Howard, meanwhile, ran the two-minute offense and went 7-of-9 for 86 yards and a touchdown. But Week 2 against the New York Jets wasn’t pretty, as both QBs combined for 11 drives and didn’t put a single score on the board.
Even McCarthy was at a loss for words when trying to explain what changed from their preseason debut, settling for the assessment: “the details and the execution wasn’t as high.” But Week 3 wasn’t any better.
Against the Buffalo Bills, Howard went 9-of-15 for 69 yards, threw two touchdowns and a pick. Allar, meanwhile, went 9-of-18 for 88 yards and couldn’t score any points in their 28-27 loss. Allar led a scoring drive that gave Eli Heidenreich a rushing touchdown, but neither Allar nor Howard showed that they were ready for a 17-week battle against starters.
Even then, Aaron Rodgers sees progress in them
“I thought the entire camp, it was never too big for ‘em. They looked really comfortable out there, and I thought they did a lot of good things, moving the football, being efficient. Just learning experiences,” Rodgers added. “But, look at my first preseason, it was not pretty at all. I didn’t play good until about the second half of the fourth preseason game.
“So they’re definitely ahead of where I was at. Mentally, they’re grasping the offense. I’m really proud of both those guys.”
The best course of action for Mike McCarthy was to keep them on the roster so they can learn from Aaron Rodgers and Rudolph on the sidelines. But keeping them didn’t come without a cost.
Linebacker Elandon Roberts, defensive lineman Dean Lowry, and RB Travis Homer were among the 38 people cut from the 90-man roster to make room for the final 53. Had the Steelers parted ways with any of their QBs, that would’ve made room for an impact player in the other positions on their depth chart.
DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., and Ben Skowronek made the final 53 in the wide receiver room, but all three carry injury designations (questionable) heading into Week 1. If they had the space, they could’ve added some help at wide receiver, and that’s just one instance in a roster riddled with injuries on both sides of the ball.
But the Steelers, under Mike McCarthy, have opted to try and solve the quarterback problem once and for all. As McCarthy put it back in August, having four QBs in the room “only enhances what the regular season would look like.”
It won’t be long before we start to understand how McCarthy’s decision shapes his first regular season with the Steelers. One thing’s certain, though. As the wear and tear of the 17-week grind falls on the team, Aaron Rodgers will need all the help he can get.