Honest Report Paints Clear Picture Of Steelers' QB Room That Isn't Great News For Drew Allar

The Pittsburgh Steelers now have some clarity on the quarterback position after Aaron Rodgers finally made the decision to sign a new contract with the team after the 2026 NFL Draft and before the start of Organized Team Activities (OTAs). He is the clear starter on the team, and he played well under center for Pittsburgh in 2025. He left some things to be desired through the air, but the roster has been upgraded around him and he has a better arsenal of weapons to throw to heading into 2026. Behind him in the quarterback room is where things get murky, and that is especially true due to the fact that the franchise drafted a quarterback in the third round in 2026.

Pittsburgh selected Drew Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and joins the quarterback room in Pittsburgh as a sort of developmental prospect, just like Will Howard. Howard was drafted in the sixth round in 2025, but he has been highly praised by the coaching staff and he has a large contingent of fans hoping he will have a chance to start at some point. The layout of the current quarterback room seems to consist of Rodgers being the starter, with Howard and Mason Rudolph competing for the backup job. Allar will likely be behind them all as he takes part in what has been said to be a "redshirt year," meaning the organization has no real plans for him to see the field in 2026.

New head coach Mike McCarthy is known as a quarterback guru, and he was working closely with Allar during rookie minicamp to rework his mechanics and turn him into a professional. Beat writer Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan on Monday morning, and he was asked if that continued into mandatory minicamp.

"I don't think they've really put much attention to him," Kaboly said. "They needed Rodgers to get up to speed a little bit. They were really interested in seeing what Will Howard can do over these first couple of weeks as well. Although Allar has had his share of reps, it's not like he's not doing anything."

Howard and Allar have sort of been pitted against one another as they are the two young quarterbacks in the room. Rudolph's contract expires after the 2026 season and Rodgers has already said that he plans to retire when the season ends, which means the starting job for 2027 is completely up for grabs.

The franchise is focusing on Howard being able to take over as the backup quarterback for the 2026 season, which is a role that Rudolph has been in for most of his career. Outside of Rodgers, Rudolph is the only quarterback in the room with actual playing and starting experience in the league, which is something that has been mentioned a ton. Many fans want Rudolph to be cut or traded, but his experience is extremely valuable. If Rodgers goes down, the organization has to be able to trust Howard to go out there and play well.

Allar is being kept on the back-burner for the time being. He will hopefully develop throughout the season during practices, but he probably won't see many real, live reps if he ends up being the last quarterback on the depth chart. 

Steelers Need To Find A Way To Keep Four Quarterbacks

Rodgers' spot on the roster is completely safe as the starter, and the same could be said for Allar since he is a rookie. It should be Howard or Rudolph getting cut or traded at the end of camp, but the Steelers should try to find a way to keep all four quarterbacks. The organization did it in 2025 with Skylar Thompson, but that was because the room saw some injuries that allowed the organization to manipulate the injured reserve list.

Pittsburgh can just keep all four and lose a player at another position group, or the franchise can try to stash one on the practice squad, but that is risky. Another move would be manipulating the injured reserve list again, but there has to be a legitimate injury to begin with.

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