The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a lifeless loss on “Sunday Night Football” against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10, which has created plenty of doubt on the heels of an exciting start. With a winnable Week 11 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the team has to find solutions quickly.

Aside from defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and occasionally linebacker Jack Sawyer, Pittsburgh’s rookie class hasn’t made a lot of noise this season. Despite that, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has a strong belief about one rookie’s potential.

“I’ll be surprised if Will Howard is on the bench much longer. He’s got everything you want in a quarterback,” Gruden said. “I’ll be shocked if Will Howard isn’t a good NFL quarterback.”

Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden on @937thefan:

“I’ll be surprised if Will Howard is on the bench much longer. He’s got everything you want in a quarterback.”

“I’ll be SHOCKED if Will Howard isn’t a good NFL quarterback.” pic.twitter.com/kuzzNiSIBR

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) November 13, 2025

At Ohio State last season, Howard posted 4,010 passing yards and 35 touchdowns while winning the national championship, and he has a perfect opportunity to learn from one of the greats. Aaron Rodgers has been so solid that there are already murmurs of him returning next year despite stating that this would likely be his final season, and perhaps that will help Howard.

Letting a quarterback learn as a backup for a few years used to be the norm, and Rodgers is a perfect example of that as he sat behind Brett Favre for multiple years with the Green Bay Packers. If Howard can take the over from Rodgers in a year or two and be the Steelers’ next franchise quarterback, it will have been worth the wait.

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