As former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard navigates his Pittsburgh Steelers situation, one thing is for sure: the stars still love him.
Even with the doubt from some fans and analysts, former Steelers greats and even current NFL juggernauts continue to back him. Among those is Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger, who has advocated for Howard ever since he was drafted. He lauded the former Wildcats signal-caller again, this time using former Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray as an example of what to avoid.
"I’m a big Will Howard fan, I would love to give him a chance," Roethlisberger said on the Deebo & Joe podcast with former Steelers stars James Harrison and Joe Haden. "I think he’s a proven winner in college. I think he can come here and do it, and I think so many teams nowadays get a quarterback and build around their quarterback. I think that’s backwards. You should build a team and plug a quarterback into it. I mean, look at Kyler Murray. No. 1 overall pick, and he didn’t even last through. They should build a team and then put Howard in it. If it doesn’t work, we’ll go draft a guy."
Howard had some relative success at Kansas State, amassing 2,643 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, rushing for 351 yards and nine touchdowns. He won a Big 12 championship and was notched an honorable mention for the 2023 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Howard's career truly took off when he went to Ohio State, winning a national title and elevating his NFL Draft stock with a legendary fifth season.
Roethlisberger believes Howard's final year should warrant him a spot in the Steelers' quarterback rotation, either competing with a veteran (a.k.a. Aaron Rodgers) or possibly being the next franchise option.
"I don’t think the Steelers should draft a quarterback early in this draft by any means," Roethlisberger said. "If you wanna try, grab one in the fourth round or somewhere just to add someone. Something I would consider is Josh Dobbs, who just got released by New England. If Aaron's not coming back, I would love to bring in a veteran guy like Dobbs who’s been here."
Pittsburgh hosts the 2026 NFL Draft on Apr. 23-25. Until then, the door remains open for what the team does at quarterback.
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