The belief that the Pittsburgh Steelers would keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster went from fringe to mainstream by summer’s end. When the team rolled out its initial roster Sunday evening, that thought became reality. Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar entered the spring as the team’s four quarterbacks. They exit as a group kept whole.

That’s the easy part. Rare as it is, it wasn’t particularly difficult for Pittsburgh to make the roster math work. But now it’s time for the hard part: keeping all four on the roster for the next 18 weeks.

“Those guys earned it,” GM Omar Khan told reporters Monday when asked if he’d roster all four. “I mean, I can’t tell you how the season goes, but there’s no reason for me to believe that those four guys won’t be here all year.”

After this weekend’s cutdowns, four teams, Pittsburgh included, kept four quarterbacks. The Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings are the other three. Already, the Vikings have dropped down to three after waiving Max Brosmer and signing him to the practice squad. Time will tell if the others will do the same.

Even with greater roster flexibility due to practice squad elevations, keeping four can be tough once injuries pile up. The few recent examples of teams beginning a season with four quarterbacks were mostly short-lived.

In 2020, the Jets kept four quarterbacks to begin the year, a move made even easier by the temporary, COVID-influenced expansion of rosters to 55: Sam Darnold, Mike White, Joe Flacco, and James Morgan stuck around. For a little while, anyway. Three weeks later, White joined the practice squad to make room for LB Frankie Luvu coming off injured reserve. New York needed the spot, and a quarterback was the odd man out.

Per my research, 2020 was last time an NFL team opened a season with 4 true QBs on 53-man roster. Was the Jets. Lasted for first 3 weeks. White was then waived & signed to practice squad. #Steelers #NFL

Wait, that was a COVID year. 55-man roster

Sam Darnold
Mike White
Joe… pic.twitter.com/MH9wv8q6Sr

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 20, 2026

In 2018, the Miami Dolphins kept four quarterbacks to begin the year: Ryan Tannehill, Brock Osweiler, Luke Falk, and David Fales. That stuck until Falk landed on injured reserve with a wrist injury.

In 2013, three teams began the year with four: the Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Jets. Washington waived former West Virginia star Pat White in mid-September after their starting kicker got dinged and the team needed a Plan B. Tyler Wilson hung on in Oakland until just before Thanksgiving when the Raiders got back offensive tackle Jared Veldheer. Wilson got the shove.

The Jets kept four quarterbacks all season, although their initial motivation was Mark Sanchez’s shoulder injury at the beginning of the year. Graham Harrell initially served as the No. 4. He quickly gave way to Brady Quinn in a procedural move (the Jets signed Quinn after Week One to avoid guaranteeing his salary), who was cut in October to make room for a now-healthy David Garrard. Nothing about the Jets is ever simple.

The point is, injuries can force tough decisions. Pittsburgh would like to go through the season carrying all four quarterbacks. They’d also like to go through the season with perfect health. The latter won’t happen, which makes the former difficult.

The Steelers are largely a healthy bunch right now. The summer injuries were nicks, not major ailments, although SS DeShon Elliott’s surprise IR stint could make things interesting when he returns.

Health can certainly change once the season begins. As can Pittsburgh’s goal of keeping all four.