New NFL Rumors on Drew Allar, Will Howard's Futures with Steelers After Loss to Jets

Friday's preseason shutout loss to the New York Jets didn't change the Pittsburgh Steelers' plans to keep two young quarterbacks on their roster, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac reported Saturday.

According to Dulac, the Steelers decided before Friday's loss to keep both Drew Allar and Will Howard past the 53-man roster cutdown deadline.

That decision did not change despite the inability of Howard or Allar to lead their team on a scoring drive in Friday's preseason action.

According to Dulac, the "question remains" whether the Steelers will keep projected backup quarterback Mason Rudolph on the roster for next season.

Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said ahead of Friday's preseason matchup Rudolph would not be playing against the Jets because he "saw what I needed to see from Mason last week."

Neither Howard nor Allar were able to take full advantage of the opportunity to play a full half in the absences of Rudolph and starter Aaron Rodgers.

Howard threw two interceptions to a Jets defense that didn't pick off a single pass all of last season, while Allar took three sacks in the Steelers' loss.

A sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft, Howard suffered a hand injury that kept him out of last preseason before spending the rest of the campaign as a depth option behind Rodgers. The Steelers later added Allar in the third round of the 2026 draft.

Rodgers has made it clear he intends to retire after the 2026 season. The Steelers could be hoping keeping two young quarterbacks on the option will give the franchise a better shot at finding its next starter.

Rudolph, who is currently set to hit unrestricted free agency ahead of the 2027 campaign, could be a trade candidate ahead of Week 1 if McCarthy ultimately decides he feels comfortable with Howard or Allar as a backup behind Rodgers this season.