The Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars just got a lot less interesting.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Steelers quarterback Will Howard is dealing with a “fractured small bone in his hand” and is expected to miss “at least three weeks.”
Head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Howard was injured after practice on Tuesday, noting that Howard likely got hurt on a quarterback-center exchange. Tomlin didn’t, however, reveal the severity of the injury at the time.
Drafted in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft , Howard was slated to make his preseason debut on Thursday night when the Steelers travel to EverBank Stadium for a matchup against the Jags.
Unfortunately, we won’t get to see Howard in that contest, and with the timeline given by Rapoport, we likely won’t be seeing him at all during the preseason in 2025.
That also means we may not get to see Howard throwing passes on a football field at all this year if starter Aaron Rodgers and backup Mason Rudolph stay healthy throughout the regular season.
Howard was listed as the third quarterback on Pittsburgh’s first unofficial depth chart released on Tuesday, which means he has jumped Skylar Thompson.
Thompson stands to benefit the most from Howard’s absence, as he should get more practice and preseason reps moving forward. However, his chances of making the roster remain slim.
As far as who is playing in the Steelers’ preseason opener, it still isn’t clear if the team will play any starters. Rudolph and Thompson will almost certainly play.
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