Steelers Rookie Will Howard Exits vs Bills, Head Injury Under Review
Howard reported an injury during Pittsburgh's 28-27 loss and could open the year on IR — the same fate that swallowed his rookie season.
Rodgers is the only Steeler QB worth a roster spot in most formats.
- Howard exited in the second half of a 28-27 loss
- Went 9-of-15, 69 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT vs Bills
- Spent most of 2025 on IR with a hand injury
- Steelers planned to keep 4 QBs on the 53
- Rodgers: #42 overall, 227 PPR pts in 2025
Will Howard's second pro season may be over before it starts. The Steelers rookie reported an injury to the medical staff during the second half of Thursday's 28-27 loss to Buffalo and was unavailable afterward as the team began evaluating him for a head injury. He'd gone 9-of-15 for 69 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, taking three first-half sacks before Drew Allar handled the rest of the night.
The timing matters. Pittsburgh reportedly planned to carry four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, but a confirmed concussion changes the math — Howard could open the season on injured reserve instead. That's a grim echo of his 2025, which he spent mostly on IR after a training-camp hand injury. Two years, two potential IR stints before Week 1.
The Depth Chart Behind Rodgers
None of this touches the top of the ladder. Aaron Rodgers is the entrenched starter, didn't play a preseason snap, and sits at #42 overall in our rankings (#19 at the position). He threw for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven picks across 16 games in 2025, good for 227 PPR points, and his last five games ran 1.6 fantasy points above his season average. Steady, if unspectacular.
Behind him it thins out fast. Mason Rudolph appeared in the preseason opener and lands at #402 overall (#51 at QB) after a 310-yard, two-touchdown, two-interception showing over five games in 2025 — 17 PPR points, essentially replacement noise. Howard and Allar split the final two exhibitions, with Allar going 9-of-18 for 88 yards against Buffalo. If Howard heads to IR, the pecking order for a mop-up job clears up in Allar's favor.
Howard's own preseason line — 26-of-39 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions — was fine for a developmental arm but never in the conversation for early snaps. The real fantasy consequence here is roster construction, not production: a Howard IR move frees a spot Pittsburgh can spend elsewhere.
For fantasy managers, this is a non-event at the top and a shrug everywhere else. Rodgers stays exactly where he was — a matchup-based QB2 in one-QB leagues, a fine bye-week fill. Howard and Rudolph aren't rosterable in standard formats, and a head-injury absence for a fourth-stringer doesn't move a single needle. Draft Rodgers as planned, ignore the rest, and check back only if Rodgers himself misses time.
