Drew Allar Not Expected to Lose Job With Steelers, No Matter What

After being selected in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, there seems to be a consensus that former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar will at least be on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster next season. 

I'm unsure if Allar has all the makings of an NFL quarterback just yet, but it sounds like the Steelers are hopeful he can be one eventually.

Allar will likely benefit from just being drafted, and rightfully so. There's reason to believe that, at the very least, he'll be on the roster. 

That doesn't mean he's going to have an opportunity to start, and according to the latest from The Athletic, it doesn't even sound like he'll have an opportunity to be the QB2. Per The Athletic, there's an expectation that Will Howard and Mason Rudolph will battle for the QB2 job. Whoever wins that job will stay on the roster, while the loser will be moved on from and Allar will slide in as the QB3.

“Another offseason of Rodgers uncertainty may be over, but significant questions still remain in the Steelers’ QB room. After drafting Drew Allar in the third round, Pittsburgh now has four quarterbacks on a depth chart that typically only fits three. It appears the stage could be set for a competition between 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and veteran backup Mason Rudolph,” Mike DeFabo wrote.

“The winner likely gets the QB2 job, while the loser could fall off the 53-man roster entirely. On one hand, coach Mike McCarthy wants to build his room with young talent that he can develop. On the other hand, would it be too risky to enter the season with a 42-year-old QB and two backups (Howard and Allar) who have never taken a single NFL snap? Or could they find a creative way to keep all four?”

I totally agree with this decision from the Steelers. I might be a bit biased as someone who likes Allar, but I think this makes sense for all parties involved. After spending a third-round pick on him, there'd be absolutely no reason to move on from him just yet. Howard and Rudolph might be better players right now, but the tools are too much to pass up on for Allar.