The Pittsburgh Steelers are hopeful their 2025 sixth-round pick, Will Howard, will be the future at the position.
Howard began his journey to that goal by taking part in rookie minicamp this week, where he took his first practice snaps as a Steeler.
Because there isn’t a ton of action this early in the offseason, it’s hard to gauge much from the three-day event. However, head coach Mike Tomlin does want to see his young quarterback command the huddle.
“Huddle command and communication, the ability to regurgitate new information,” he said of what he wants to see from Howard, according to Joe Rutter of TribLive.com. “By new information, I mean information that is new to them. I don’t want to underscore how difficult it is to receive verbiage from a play caller and have to regurgitate it to 10 others who are waiting for it.”
“They are elementary things, but important things nonetheless. Giving and receiving information is a central component of leadership at that position,” Tomlin added.
There is a wide range of possibilities for Howard in 2025, with the most negative being him not making the roster at all. We consider that unlikely, but it’s not impossible given his status as a late-round draft pick.
The most realistic scenario is Howard sits in his first season, but that’s under the assumption that Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, which isn’t guaranteed.
If Rodgers opts to go in a different direction, Howard could find himself in a battle for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart with Mason Rudolph, who was brought back in free agency after one season. Rudolph would be the favorite in that battle, but he’s certainly not unbeatable.
For now, Howard is just focused on getting better and stacking good days.
“I want to come in here and learn and get better. That’s how I’m treating this,” he said. “Who knows what happens? I’m not worrying about that. I understand I’m a rookie, and I don’t know what I don’t know. Whoever is in the room … I’m blessed to be a part of it.”
“To be in the NFL, you’re always fighting for a job no matter what,” Howard added. “If you’re not on your game one day, you can be gone.”
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