Former Buckeye Legend Makes the Final 53-Man Roster, Barely
· Yahoo Sports
Former Ohio State star quarterback Will Howard's NFL dreams with the Pittsburgh Steelers stay alive, for now.
It became official on Sunday evening that the Steelers are keeping four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster to begin the season. This signifies that the competition between Howard and former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar will continue throughout next season.
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As no surprise to any Ohio State fan, Howard became an instant fan favorite and locker room star inside the Pittsburgh organization as a rookie. He went under the wing of Aaron Rodgers and learned the ways of an NFL quarterback from one of the best, hoping that the job might be his once Rodgers retires.
Then, in a twist of fate, the Steelers went a little bit rogue when they went and drafted one of Howard's rivals, Drew Allar, in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, putting Howard's future in question.
As all of Columbus knows, Howard ran right into the fight and didn't back down, even though the writing was put on the wall.
Ohio State Buckeyes Football: Buckeyes' Schedule Preview Ahead of Week ZeroIt's officially Week Zero in college football, and the journey to Las Vegas has begun. For the Buckeyes, they have a week left to wait until they get underwa...Howard and Allar battled it out throughout camp, and both showed signs of improvement, but Howard's weaknesses have been exposed in the NFL game. There was a reason that even after winning the National Championship in 2024, Howard was a sixth-round pick.
From a character perspective, Howard is an A+ player. He is a guy who elevates not only every locker room he steps into, but every room, period. He is someone who could very easily be the face of a franchise that a city could rally behind.
The tough part is that, from an on-field quarterbacking perspective, his game comes up a little bit short. He doesn't have the strongest arm; he is not the most accurate, and his athleticism is muted at the NFL level because of all the players around him.
His advantage is between the ears and being able to outthink his opponent and outthink his competition. The only problem is that it is the advantage of some of the other quarterbacks on that roster and in the NFL at large.
Howard finds himself in a very interesting spot. This is a player who could simply be a career backup, a Mitch Trubisky type, who stays in the league for a long time. However, right now, he still believes that the 2024 Ohio State playoff run player is still in there.
Buckeye fans everywhere are pulling for him. For now, he stays on the 53-man roster, but it is going to be a really tough season of battling for that backup position and heir apparent to the Hall-of-Famer, Aaron Rodgers.
Howard will never go down without a fight; he showed everyone at Ohio State that en route to a National Championship.