Rodgers Sits Again as Steelers Hand Howard and Allar the Jets Keys

Aaron Rodgers won't throw a pass in Pittsburgh's preseason again. The 42-year-old will be inactive Friday night against the Jets for the second straight week, and this time he's got company: Mason Rudolph, who went 10-of-11 in two series against Green Bay, sits too. Instead, head coach Mike McCarthy is handing the entire night to rookies Will Howard and Drew Allar.

McCarthy framed the call as pure development math. He said he saw what he needed from Rudolph last week, and with two veterans he trusts in Rodgers and Rudolph, he wants to max out reps for the young arms. Howard missed all of last year's preseason with a training camp injury; Allar is a fourth-round rookie out of Penn State. Neither has NFL film to burn, so Pittsburgh's giving them a full runway.

Both earned it. Howard went 7-of-9 for 86 yards against the Packers, capping an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive on which he completed all four throws for 67 yards — including a 17-yard dart to Ben Skowronek on fourth-and-1. Allar was the headliner, though: 10-of-13 for 153 yards, two passing scores and a rushing touchdown, good for a 154.8 passer rating. Pittsburgh's whole QB room went 27-of-33 for 313 yards on the night.

Why Rodgers Keeps Sitting

This isn't a red flag. McCarthy has been clear he only wants Rodgers on the field with his full receiver corps, and DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman have both missed practice with minor injuries. Their Friday statuses are unknown. Read between the lines of McCarthy's Wednesday comments — heavy emphasis on preseason reps for young quarterbacks, younger players as the priority for the final two exhibitions — and it sure sounds like Rodgers won't take a live snap until the Week 1 opener against Atlanta.

The Fantasy Fallout

For fantasy purposes, none of this should move your board. Rodgers threw for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and just 7 picks across 16 games in 2025, finishing as our QB19 and the #42 player overall in our 2026-27 model. His last five games last season ran 1.6 fantasy points above his own average, so the arm still works. Preseason absence for a 42-year-old vet is smart load management, not decline.

Bottom line: keep Rodgers penciled in as a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 and don't overthink the empty preseason stat line. Howard and Allar are dynasty stashes at best — intriguing, but blocked. And if Metcalf's minor issue lingers into the regular season, that's the Steelers storyline actually worth tracking. Rodgers is a hold; the receiver room is where your real attention belongs.