The Pittsburgh Steelers opened Monday’s inaugural organized team activity session of 2026 with recently re-signed Aaron Rodgers taking first-team reps at quarterback. He was followed by untested second-year QB Will Howard, then veteran Mason Rudolph and rookie Drew Allar.
If that’s simply an effort to get Howard elevated work with some of the higher-leverage players after getting very little of that a year ago, so be it.
Aaron Rodgers on the field taking part in the first Steelers OTA of 2026 pic.twitter.com/O6TVQ8CwiA
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 18, 2026
If that’s simply an effort to perhaps drive up Howard’s trade stock so he can command at least a minimal return instead of just stashing him on IR again or cutting him, that’s understandable.
If that’s simply an effort to avoid making it look like an entire offseason of team-created hype surrounding Howard wasn’t just a load of baloney, then I’ll chuckle. But, OK. Whatever. Keep committing to the bit.
However, if that’s what the Steelers are truly thinking, I don’t get it. That move is inconsistent with the effort to bring Rodgers back for a second season.
For the second straight season, the organization publicly pursued Rodgers in an effort to maintain its status as a fringe AFC playoff contender, with the ultimate goal of finally winning a playoff game.
With a 42-year-old starter, do you really want the backup to be a second-year sixth-rounder who has never taken a snap in the National Football League? Or do you want a quarterback who once won three must-win games in a row to save a season in 2023?
Going with Howard would be extremely incongruous with that goal.
If the object is to develop Howard — or at least see what you have in him before examining Allar — don’t give Rodgers $22-25 million to continue the eternal quest of remaining 10-7 every year and turn the team over to your sixth-round draft pick that you talked up like Tom Brady the entire offseason.
If the goal is to position the team in the best possible way to make the playoffs, you might want to turn to a backup with 19 NFL starts under his belt as opposed to someone who is essentially a redshirt freshman.
Not to mention, if the Steelers are considering trading Rudolph because they want to make Howard the No. 2 behind Rodgers, telling the whole world that he is now a third-stringer isn’t the best strategy.
It’s easy to dismiss any depth chart signal from the early portion of the Steelers OTAs by saying, “Eh, it’s only May 19. A lot can change.”
That’s true. But if any information that comes out is going to be dismissed based on the date, why read it at all?
Hey, the practices are open to those of us in the media. A lot of people want to hear what’s going on. The Steelers apparently are willing to let us disseminate the details.
So let’s talk about it.
Because, at the very least, some of what the Steelers are doing now is a window into what they may want to see happen long term — even if these are just early spring experiments that don’t pan out.
On Day 1 of OTAs, anyway, what Mike McCarthy’s coaching staff did with the backup quarterbacks is worthy of raising eyebrows.