Will Howard Injury News & Updates

Howard (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Steelers' emergency third quarterback against the Ravens on Sunday, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.

For a second consecutive week, Howard will be the Steelers' emergency QB3, meaning he's restricted from playing Sunday unless both Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph were to leave the game due to injury, illness or ejection.

Howard (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's matchup with the Bills, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

The rookie quarterback would need starter Aaron Rodgers and backup Mason Rudolph to be unable to play due to injury, illness or ejection to get into the game. Howard was activated off injured reserve Nov. 12 after dealing with a fractured right hand, and he's been behind Rodgers and Rudolph ever since.

Howard is active for Sunday's game against the Bears, when he'll serve as the backup quarterback behind Mason Rudolph, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Howard opened the season on injured reserve due to a fractured right hand, and after being activated off IR on Nov. 12, he served as the Steelers' emergency third quarterback in Week 11 against the Bengals. However, with Aaron Rodgers (wrist) ruled out for Sunday's clash against Chicago, Howard will be on the active roster for the first time this season and will be available to play in case Rudolph is removed from the game. During his final collegiate season at Ohio State, Howard completed 73.0 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 16 games.

Howard (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Steelers' emergency third quarterback against the Bengals on Sunday.

Howard has yet to appear in a regular-season game, having resided on injured reserve due to a fractured hand he suffered during training camp. Cleared of injury, the quarterback is positioned to help his team if injury strikes both starter Aaron Rodgers and backup Mason Rudolph.

The Steelers activated Howard (hand) from IR to the 53-man roster on Wednesday.

Howard began the regular season on IR due to a fractured hand suffered during training camp, and after having had his 21-day practice window opened Oct. 22, the rookie sixth-round pick is now ready for game action. He could contribute as the Steelers' emergency No. 3 quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph versus the Bengals on Sunday.

The Steelers did not activate Howard (hand) from injured reserve, and he has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Chargers, per the NFL's transaction report.

Howard continues to recover from a fractured right hand that he sustained during training camp in early August. His 21-day practice window opened Oct. 22, and if he's not activated from IR before the end of that time frame, he would be forced to miss the rest of the 2025 season. Howard's next opportunity to be activated from IR is ahead of the Steelers' Week 11 clash against the Bengals on Sunday, Nov. 16.

Howard (hand) will remain on injured reserve and has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Packers, per the NFL's transaction log.

Howard was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday. Despite being a full participant in practice all week, the rookie sixth-rounder is not quite ready to return from a hand injury that he sustained in August, so Mason Rudolph and Aaron Rodgers will be the Steelers' two quarterbacks on the active roster for Week 8. Howard will aim to progress enough in his recovery to be activated off IR ahead of the Steelers' Week 9 clash against the Colts on Sunday, Nov. 2.

Howard (hand) was designated to return from the injured reserve list Wednesday.

The 2025 sixth-round pick from Ohio State fractured a bone in his hand in early August, causing him to miss the Steelers' first six games this season. He now has 21 days to be added to the team's active roster before reverting to IR. Once fully healthy, Howard is expected to compete with Mason Rudolph for the Steelers' No. 2 quarterback spot.

The Steelers placed Howard (hand) on injured reserve Thursday, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.

Howard will have to miss at least the first four games of the regular season as he works his way back from a fractured bone in his left hand suffered during practice Aug. 5. That injury caused him to miss the entire preseason. Once healthy, the rookie sixth-round pick figures to operate as Pittsburgh's emergency No. 3 quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that Howard (hand) is expected to be a full participant in practice "soon," Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.

Howard broke a bone in his hand during practice Aug. 5 and was unable to play in the preseason. He's expected to open the season behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph on the Steelers' QB depth chart.

Howard (hand) isn't suited up for Thursday's preseason contest at Carolina, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.

Howard sustained a broken small bone in his right hand in practice on Aug. 5 and missed the Steelers' first two exhibitions as a result. Thursday's absence will make it a third in a row, meaning the rookie sixth-round pick likely is destined to kick off the campaign as the team's No. 3 QB behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.

Howard (hand) hasn't been ruled out from playing in Pittsburgh's final preseason game, Mark Kaboly of 93.7 The Fan Pittsburgh reports.

Howard fractured a bone in his right hand on Tuesday, which was expected to keep him out for the entire preseason, but head coach Mike Tomlin said he could make an appearance in their preseason finale on August 21 against Carolina. The 2025 sixth-round pick is competing with Mason Rudolph for the backup role and was on track to have a big workload in the preseason. In the meantime, Skylar Thompson will get more reps in his absence.

Howard suffered a fractured small bone in his right hand Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Howard exited Tuesday's practice early after suffering an injury to his throwing hand, which is now understood to be something of significance. The quarterback is expected to miss at least three weeks, likely sidelining him for the entirety of the the preseason. It's a tough break for the rookie, who was certainly on track to handle a large workload in Pittsburgh's three exhibition contests. In the meantime, Skylar Thompson will stand to absorb most of Howard's snaps with the third-team offense at practice.

Howard left Tuesday's training camp practice after injuring his throwing hand, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that the injury occurred during a quarterback-center exchange. It's bad timing for Howard, who is competing against Mason Rudolph for the backup QB job behind Aaron Rodgers. The severity of the injury is not clear, but it could put Howard in jeopardy of missing the Steelers' preseason opener against the Jaguars on Saturday. Skylar Thompson is set to take over third-string duties for as long as Howard is sidelined.

Howard is slated to begin the 2025 season as the Steelers' No. 3 quarterback after the team signed Aaron Rodgers on Saturday, Jacob Punturi of SI.com reports.

After winning the national championship during his lone season at Ohio State in 2024, Howard was selected by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Rodgers and the Steelers had been continually linked in rumors during the offseason, but if a deal between the two sides hadn't materialized, Howard could have had an opportunity to compete with Mason Rudolph for a starting role. Instead, Howard will turn his focus toward a developmental role in 2025, but Rodgers said Tuesday that he plans to help the rookie as much as possible this season.

The Steelers selected Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 185th overall.

The Steelers waited until late in the draft to address quarterback but still ended up with a decent prospect in Howard. Before leading Ohio State to a national championship in 2024, Howard started parts of four seasons at Kansas State. He didn't have nearly the pass-catching talent at K-State that he had in Columbus, and that's borne out in the numbers -- Howard completed 58.8 percent of his passes at a 7.4 YPA clip. Howard was helped dramatically by the supporting cast at Ohio State and posted a 73 percent completion rate and 9.5 YPA while tossing 35 touchdowns in 16 games. Howard is a big (6-foot-4, 236 pounds) and athletic quarterback who can run. He doesn't possess elite arm talent but is a good processor and is poised. In a situation like Pittsburgh's with no established starter, it wouldn't be shocking for Howard to compete for a starting job. And as a fun aside, Howard actually competed for playing time with fellow Steeler Skylar Thompson while they were at Kansas State.