Mike McCarthy Delivers Strong Take on Rookie QB Drew Allar

The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers on a one-year deal to be the starting quarterback, but the story in the quarterback room has been the battle for the backup role.

Second-year quarterback Will Howard, veteran Mason Rudolph, and rookie Drew Allar are competing for the role, and they've all shown flashes. While Allar is coming off a disappointing year at Penn State, he has been impressive for the Steelers thus far. 

“My first encounter with [Allar] was at the combine," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "His face was beet red, and we were rocking and rolling and had a good football conversation. But I was impressed with him in Indianapolis, and I looked at his first impression that he made in the rookie orientation. Everybody here was there. I thought he did a really nice job and handled the volume that we threw at him and that amount of throwing we asked him to do on that weekend, and then the next hurdle jumping into the OTAs. [Allar and Howard have] improved a lot."

This is major praise from McCarthy and should give Allar confidence as he enters his rookie season. The 22-year-old quarterback played at a high level in Pittsburgh's preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers.

In that game, Allar completed 10 of 13 passes for 153 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions while rushing for two yards and a touchdown.

This was a great Steelers debut for Allar, and he could emerge as the backup before the start of the season. 

Allar showed promise across his four seasons at Penn State, but he was not consistent. In the 2023 season, he completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns, and two interceptions, along with 206 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

He had a great campaign in 2024, completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, and added 302 yards and six touchdowns rushing.

Allar didn't play as much in 2025 due to injury, completing 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,100 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions, with 172 yards and a touchdown on 36 rushing attempts.

Although Allar may not be the starting quarterback for the Steelers in 2026, he is showcasing talent and could develop into a future starter while learning under Rodgers and McCarthy.