Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Skylar Thompson capped off his stellar preseason on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers and leaves head coach Mike Tomlin and Co. with a difficult decision to make.
Thompson completed 11-of-13 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown to zero picks. Adding to that, he looked better than Aaron Rodgers' top backup, Mason Rudolph, who completed 6-of-8 passes for 36 yards and threw one ugly interception.
Thompson's highlight plays were a 53-yard connection with wide receiver Scotty Miller and a 24-yard touchdown pass to wideout Lance McCutcheon.
Now, the Steelers face a tough decision. They probably want to keep Thompson, who has done enough to make the roster, but they aren't going to keep four quarterbacks, nor are they going to cut or trade Will Howard or Rudolph.
On the surface, it would seem there's no place for Thompson on the roster, but there is a way the Steelers could hold on to all three quarterbacks.
The Steelers' sixth-round pick is currently sidelined with a broken pinky finger and it isn't clear when he'll return to action. At practice on Tuesday, Howard was still sporting a wrap on his hand.
The original estimate had him sitting out "at least three weeks," so with the injury happening on Aug. 5, that puts Howard's earliest return date at Aug. 26, which is one day before cutdown day on Aug. 26.
The Steelers could simply put Howard on injured reserve, which would open up a spot at quarterback to keep Thompson. Not having the rookie for the first four games isn't a big deal, as he's highly unlikely to see the field anyway.
To be clear, it certainly isn't the end of the world if Thompson gets cut, but if the Steelers really want to keep him bad enough, putting Howard on injured reserve appears to be the only way to do it.
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