When is Will Howard coming back? Latest injury update on Pittsburgh Steelers QB

Mike Moraitis

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When is Will Howard coming back? Latest injury update on Pittsburgh Steelers QB image

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The only semblance of hope for the future at the quarterback position for the Pittsburgh Steelers is rookie Will Howard.

Howard was taken in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft. While quarterbacks taken that late aren't a great bet to pan out, the Steelers don't have another young signal-caller on their roster, hence the hope for Howard's future.

Sadly, Howard is starting the season on injured reserve after he suffered a broken pinky on a center-quarterback exchange during training camp, which led to him missing all of the preseason, robbing us of a first look at him.

So, when can we expect Howard to return to the roster?

Here's what we know.

Will Howard injury update

With Howard on injured reserve, he's going to miss at least the first four games, so the earliest he can be activated is Week 5, although he'd likely get a week or two to ramp up before being activated.

That said, there remains a possibility that the Steelers are going to keep him on the list for much longer given the fact that they don't need him with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson as backup options behind Aaron Rodgers.

The last concrete update we can find on Howard comes from a Sept. 1 tweet from The Athletic's Mike DeFabo, which includes a video of the young quarterback throwing at practice.

That means Howard is moving in the right direction his recovery.

The downside of keeping Howard on injured reserve is it could stunt his growth, as he won't be able to practice with the team as long as he's on the list.

Is Will Howard going to play in 2025?

Barring a catastrophic injury situation or the Steelers completely falling out of contention early, Howard is unlikely to see the field in 2025.

The Steelers have a strong backup situation with Rudolph, so Howard will need both Rodgers and Rudolph to get hurt in order to play in a meaningful game.

Now, if the Steelers are eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season or just completely fall on their face, Pittsburgh will want to get a look at Howard in order to gauge how much they need to draft a quarterback in 2026.

However, we don't see the Steelers being that bad. Pittsburgh will, at the very least, hover around a playoff spot all season, and we believe they'll actually garner a wild-card spot when it's all said and done.

If so, we'll have to wait until 2026 to see Howard on an NFL field.

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Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.