Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers placed the unrestricted free-agent tender on veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the team to an AFC North title at 10-7 last season … but he still hasn’t signed a contract, and we don’t definitively know who the team’s 2026 starting quarterback is.
That leads us to second-year quarterback Will Howard and rookie Drew Allar. Who does Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger — the franchise leader with 64,088 passing yards and 418 passing touchdowns — prefer?
“I’m not sure yet if I love it or hate it. I don’t watch a lot of Penn State games. When I did watch, he never jumped off the page to me,” Roethlisberger said about Allar, whom Pittsburgh selected with the No. 76 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, on his podcast, “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.”
“Is he big? Can he move? Can he throw? Yes. But there was never a time when I was like, ‘Whoa.’ … The jury’s still out for me right now. Again, there was nothing that just jumped off the page for me. Whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know. We’ll see about this one.”
As for the other former Big Ten signal-caller?
“Will Howard jumped off the tape to me way more than Drew [Allar] did,” Roethlisberger stated.
The Steelers chosen Howard within the sixth spherical of the 2025 NFL Draft. Howard spent the primary 4 seasons of his collegiate profession with the Kansas State Wildcats (2020-23) earlier than transferring to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2024, with whom he received the Nationwide Championship.
In stated championship season (2024), Howard totaled 4,010 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 175.3 passer ranking, whereas finishing 73.0% of his passes. Howard led the Huge Ten in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completion proportion, whereas speeding for 226 yards and 7 touchdowns. He did not seem in a sport throughout his 2025 rookie season.
As for Allar, the previous five-star recruit’s 2025 marketing campaign at Penn State was minimize quick after six video games as a consequence of a damaged ankle. Over his two wholesome seasons because the Nittany Lions’ beginning quarterback (2023-24), the 6-foot-5 Allar averaged 2,979 passing yards, 24.5 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a 145.2 passer ranking per yr, whereas finishing 63.2% of his passes. In 2024, Allar helped Penn State attain the Faculty Soccer Playoff semifinals and led the Huge Ten with 25 passing touchdowns in 2023.
In all, Pittsburgh’s quarterback room presently consists of Allar, Howard and Mason Rudolph, who has made a mixed 14 begins over his two stints with the Steelers (2018-23 and 2025-present).
