Mike McCarthy Hints Steelers Will Cut 2 Quarterbacks

With the addition of Aaron Rodgers on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially have a crowd of quarterbacks on the 90-man offseason roster. 

After taking Drew Allar in the third round of April's draft, the former Penn State quarterback is almost a lock to make the 53-man roster this fall. 

If the Steelers wanted to carry three quarterbacks during the regular season, new head coach Mike McCarthy will have to choose between cutting 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard or his most experienced backup, Mason Rudolph.

When speaking to reporters on Wednesday, McCarthy appeared to hint the Steelers might cut two quarterbacks, saying that he wished Pittsburgh could keep all four on a 55-man roster.

"We definitely have four that we love, I can say that," McCarthy said, via the Steelers. "You always have to develop the room, that's always been the approach.

"We're hoping (General Manager) Omar (Khan) can get the roster expanded to 55 and we can keep four. It's a really good room. This is a good place to be, having four guys that can play."

Taking McCarthy's words literally, the Steelers would need to add two more spots to the 53-man roster to keep all four quarterbacks, meaning it's possible two will be cut to make the number 53.

The Steelers could then sign a quarterback to the practice squad, giving the team an emergency third quarterback on game days. Howard probably has the best chance of being cut and then re-signed to the practice squad.

Rudolph could gain interest from another team looking for a veteran with experience.

It's not uncommon for league teams to keep just two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, though McCarthy opted to keep three quarterbacks (Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, and Trey Lance) on the 53-man roster during his final season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. 

Maybe the Steelers keep three quarterbacks on the roster this year. Maybe they decide to give a spot to Eli Heidenreich, who appears to be on the bubble of making the team before training camp.

McCarthy made sure to praise Rudolph and Howard when speaking to reporters this week. Pittsburgh isn't rushing a decision just yet, though they could make a move in the near future to give Howard and Allar more practice reps.