{"id":857611,"date":"2026-04-06T21:57:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T21:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/857611\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T21:57:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T21:57:35","slug":"mike-mccarthy-sees-will-howard-as-a-top-prospect-for-the-steelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/857611\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike McCarthy sees Will Howard as a top prospect for the Steelers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">The Pittsburgh Steelers are still awaiting a decision regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/aaron-rodgers\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"break-word text-(--theme-primary-color) hover:text-(--theme-text-color) hover:bg-(--theme-primary-color) cursor-pointer font-bold border-b-(length:--theme-border-width) border-b-(--theme-border-color)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aaron Rodgers<\/a>\u2019 future. Despite that, Mike McCarthy knows he has an alternative in Will Howard, whom he believes will have a great NFL career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">\u201cPeople get caught up in what round he went in,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/mike-mccarthy\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"break-word text-(--theme-primary-color) hover:text-(--theme-text-color) hover:bg-(--theme-primary-color) cursor-pointer font-bold border-b-(length:--theme-border-width) border-b-(--theme-border-color)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">McCarthy<\/a> said at the NFL League Meetings. \u201cIf I was drafting players that year, he wouldn\u2019t have been around in the fifth or sixth round. <\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">\u201cI valued him higher than that based off Kansas State. And man, I thought he jumped out of the tv set during the college playoffs. What not is there to like about the guy? So, I think he\u2019s definitely a real prospect as a starting quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Howard or Rudolph<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/will-howard\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"break-word text-(--theme-primary-color) hover:text-(--theme-text-color) hover:bg-(--theme-primary-color) cursor-pointer font-bold border-b-(length:--theme-border-width) border-b-(--theme-border-color)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Will Howard<\/a> is a major investment for the Steelers, even if Rodgers returns. Still, the former Buckeyes player will have to compete for a spot against Mason Rudolph, a seasoned veteran who is also looking for his chance to start in Week 1 in Steel City.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mason-rudolph-1920x1080.webp.webp\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" alt=\"Mason Rudolph\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-5 text-center text-(length:--theme-text-size)\" style=\"--theme-text-size:14px\">Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>What will happen with Rodgers?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">As of early April 2026, Aaron Rodgers remains a free agent as he mulls over whether to return to the <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/pittsburgh-steelers\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"break-word text-(--theme-primary-color) hover:text-(--theme-text-color) hover:bg-(--theme-primary-color) cursor-pointer font-bold border-b-(length:--theme-border-width) border-b-(--theme-border-color)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> for a 22nd NFL season or retire. While he has not set a formal deadline, Steelers owner Art Rooney II expects a decision before the NFL Draft begins on April 23. Head coach Mike McCarthy remains optimistic about a reunion, noting that <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/nfl\/mike-mccarthy-maintains-positive-conversations-with-aaron-rodgers\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"break-word text-(--theme-primary-color) hover:text-(--theme-text-color) hover:bg-(--theme-primary-color) cursor-pointer font-bold border-b-(length:--theme-border-width) border-b-(--theme-border-color)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">he and Rodgers have been in \u201cconstant communication\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-[5px] w-full md:mb-[11px]\">SurveyWho should be the QB1 for the Steelers next season?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-[9px] block text-(length:--theme-text-size) font-bold md:hidden\" style=\"--theme-text-size:18px\">Who should be the QB1 for the Steelers next season?<\/p>\n<p>Howard waits for his chance<\/p>\n<p class=\"break-word\">Despite a hand injury that sidelined him during last year\u2019s training camp, Will Howard is now fully healthy and focused on making his NFL debut in 2026. After a year of development within the Steelers\u2019 system, he enters the upcoming season ready to compete for a spot on the active roster and finally showcase his skills on the professional stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers are still awaiting a decision regarding Aaron Rodgers\u2019 future. Despite that, Mike McCarthy knows he&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,7866,6,115210,520,57,2360,426,2183],"class_list":{"0":"post-857611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-mike-mccarthy","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nomsn","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-steelers","16":"tag-will-howard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116360004257268490","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}