Pittsburgh’s veteran quarterbacks will get a break for Friday night’s matchup with the Jets.
Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday that second-year QB Will Howard will start against New York, with rookie Drew Allar to follow.
Neither starter Aaron Rodgers nor veteran backup Mason Rudolph will play this week.
Why just Howard and Allar?
“I think you understand, they’re young,” McCarthy said, via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive.com. “Will didn’t get to play last year. Drew’s a first-year player. Have two veterans I feel really good about, obviously, with Aaron and Mason. Saw what I needed to see from Mason last week. I’ve talked highly about Mason, really, since the spring. So I want to max out the opportunities for both Will and Drew.”
Rudolph started last week’s game against the Packers and played 19 snaps, completing 10-of-11 passes for 93 yards. Howard came in second, also playing 19 snaps, finishing the contest 7-of-9 for 86 yards. Allar came in last and completed 10-of-13 passes for 153 yards with two TDs in 30 snaps.
Steelers Clips
Six years ago, it appeared that the Steelers had found a keeper in second-round receiver Chase Claypool.
Now, Claypool continues to look for a path back to an NFL roster.
Claypool, who hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2023, had a tryout on Tuesday with the Saints, per multiple reports. Veteran receiver Josh Reynolds, a nine-year veteran who played for the Jets in 2025, also tried out for New Orleans.
The Saints recently lost first-round rookie Jordyn Tyson to a hamstring injury. He’s expected to miss two months.
Claypool scored 11 touchdowns as a rookie in Pittsburgh. By 2022, the Steelers had decided to move on, recouping their second-round pick (which ended up being the first pick in round two) from the Bears. During the 2023 season, the Bears traded Claypool to the Dolphins for a swap of sixth- and seventh-round picks.
An injury in 2024 derailed an opportunity with the Bills before the season started. He has not been on a roster since then.
Reynolds, a fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2017, has also played for the Titans, Lions, Broncos, and Jaguars.
The Giants are bringing in a veteran running back.
Najee Harris has agreed to a one-year deal with New York, according to NFL Network.
Harris took a visit with the club on Monday.
The No. 24 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Harris suffered a torn Achilles while playing for the Chargers last season. He appeared in just three games before his injury.
Harris recorded at least 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first four seasons with the Steelers. In 2024, he tallied 1,043 yards with six touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 283 yards.
On Monday, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Harris looked good in his workout.
“You know, he’s not back 100 percent,” Harbaugh said in his press conference. “He’s not in football shape yet. So, if we are able to do something, it’ll be a process. But that would be a guy that has got a lot of experience. He’s a decorated vet. And with those guys, generally, you just have to kind of see where they’re at when you get them.”
With the club and player coming to an agreement, Harris now has a chance to show how productive he can be in the NFC East in 2026.
There’s severe weather in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, today, and as a result, the Steelers’ 2026 training camp has come to an end.
Today was supposed to be the Steelers’ final training camp practice, but the team canceled today’s practice because of lightning in the area.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said he was sorry for the Steelers fans who were hoping to make it to today’s practice, which would have been open to the public.
“We’re breaking camp early,” McCarthy said. “Disappointed to leave here because this is such a great environment for us to train in. Disappointing, frankly, for the fans, because those are our best practices when everybody is out there, but just based off the weather.”
The Steelers will be off tomorrow and then back at work at their team facility, the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, on Wednesday.
The Steelers and defensive tackle Keeanu Benton have agreed to a long-term extension.
Benton will sign a four-year, $72 million deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports. The $18 million per season annual average will make Benton the highest-paid defensive lineman in Steelers history.
Benton, 25, was entering the final year of his rookie deal, due to make $1.750 million this season.
The Steelers selected him in the second round in 2023, and he has played all 51 possible games, while starting 40. Benton has totaled 123 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 28 quarterback hits and an interception.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy shared on Friday that the club had a situation that resulted in some on-the-fly changes for last night’s preseason opener.
In an interview on the Pat McAfee Show, McCarthy said chief of staff Steve Scarnecchia suffered a “medical situation” and was attended to.
“We were really challenged last night,” McCarthy said, via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive.com. “[Scarnecchia is] my chief of staff, and he’s the guy that’s in charge of everything, especially the little things. A challenging opportunity for us as a coaching staff, football operations, especially the first game out the door. There was a lot of running around, frankly, behind the scenes and making sure we had everything buttoned up.”
Scarnecchia is the son of famed former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. The younger Scarnecchia joined the Steelers this offseason after McCarthy was hired.
Drew Allar is the only rookie quarterback on the Steelers roster, but he wasn’t the only Steelers quarterback to play in an NFL game for the first time on Thursday night.
Will Howard missed the preseason in 2025 after breaking his hand and he never played after being activated from injured reserve, so he joined Allar in getting his feet wet against the Packers. It was a positive night for both players.
Howard followed Mason Rudolph into the game and went 7-of-9 for 86 yards and appeared to have a touchdown pass before tight end Robert Tonyan was ruled down a yard short of the end zone. The Steelers went on to score and then scored three touchdowns while Allar was in the game. The third-round pick’s first pass went to wide receiver Kaden Wetjen for a 74-yard gain and set up an Allar rushing touchdown. The rookie was 10-of-13 for 153 yards and two scores overall and head coach Mike McCarthy had good things to say about both quarterbacks after the game.
“I like the way our quarterbacks ran the offense and that’s the big thing. . . . I thought they were very poised,” McCarthy said. “I liked the way all three of them played, especially our young guys. I liked the way Will responded. . . . He did a good job overcoming some long down on distances, and I thought his two-minute drill was outstanding. And I thought Drew played very, very well.”
McCarthy called the night “a good start” for the Steelers and more of the same in the next couple of weeks will make for some interesting decisions about who makes the 53-man roster in Pittsburgh.
For rookie quarterbacks in the preseason, the most important goal is to look the part.
Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar looked the part on Thursday night against the Packers.
In three second-half drives, Allar engineered three touchdowns. The first covered 80 yards in five plays, culminating in a three-yard touchdown run by the third-round quarterback. The second went 89 yards in 10 plays, with a five-yard touchdown pass to cap it. The third racked up 60 yards in 10 plays, ending with a four-yard touchdown pass.
For the night, Allar completed 10 of 13 passes for 153 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. His passer rating was a near-perfect 154.8.
The other quarterback who was making his NFL preseason debut, 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard, completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Unless the Steelers will keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, they’ll have to decide on a quarterback to cut. The better Allar and Howard play, the more likely the odd man out will be veteran Mason Rudolph.
Of course, one of them could be traded. They each finished with passer ratings in excess of 100 in the 2026 preseason debut.
The Packers made a different choice than the Steelers when it came to playing their starting quarterback on Thursday night, but they didn’t leave Jordan Love in the game for long.
Love got the ball after the opening kickoff and moved the team 46 yards over 10 plays in a drive that ended with a field goal. Love exited the game after that drive and Tyrod Taylor is now at quarterback for Green Bay.
Love’s night looked like it would be slightly shorter, but Steelers defensive lineman Dean Lowry was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a Trey Smack 58-yard field goal attempt. The rookie hit the kick, but the Packers took the penalty and turned back to Smack for a shorter kick after an incompletion on third down.
Love connected with Jayden Reed for a 19-yard gain, but a pass to running back MarShawn Lloyd resulted in a four-yard loss and Love finished 3-of-5 for 18 yards.
Aaron Rodgers did not start for the Steelers. Mason Rudolph was given the nod by Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy for the preseason opener.
The Steelers did not announce their quarterback plans for Thursday night’s preseason game against the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers, though, is on the sideline in street clothes.
Mason Rudolph will start, with Will Howard replacing him at some point in the first half, according to the 102.5 WDVE pregame show. Rookie Drew Allar will play the second half.
Howard missed the 2025 preseason with a hand injury.
Rodgers is expected to play in the preseason, perhaps Aug. 21 against his other former team, the Jets.
Rodgers’ protegee, Jordan Love, will start for the Packers tonight in what is expected to be Rodgers’ final meeting against the team that drafted him.
