The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly made a decision on what to do with quarterbacks Skylar Thompson and Will Howard.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers plan on placing Howard on injured reserve to begin this season, which means he's going to miss the first four games at minimum, although Dulac thinks it's possible he spends all season there as he continues to develop.
With that clearing a roster spot since Howard was almost certainly going to be kept if healthy, the Steelers are going to keep Thompson as their third quarterback behind Mason Rudolph and Aaron Rodgers, Dulac added.
“I think Skylar Thompson makes the team. Their plan is they’re gonna put Will Howard on IR,” Dulac said on 102.5 WDVE on Monday. “And Billy [Crawford], let’s face it, there’s no reason not to just leave him there because you didn’t play in a pre-season game. The coaches don’t spend the regular season teaching. Once you get to the regular season, it’s all about game plans and Xs and Os, and teaching goes on in training camp, and at the end of training camp, that’s it.
Howard suffered a broken pinky finger on Aug. 5 and was initially given a timeline to return of "at least three weeks," which means the earliest he'd be cleared is Aug. 26, which is also cutdown day.
Thompson put together an impressive offseason, but the Steelers were never going to keep him over Rudolph or Howard, so he needed the latter to go on injured reserve to stick on the initial 53-man roster.
To be quite honest, the only way it makes sense to keep a third quarterback is if it's Howard, as the Steelers don't have much of a future under center with Rodgers probably retiring after this season.
With Thompson, we already know what he is, and a potential franchise quarterback he is not. And, the only way he gets into a game is if both Rodgers and Rudolph are hurt, and at that point the Steelers will already be in huge trouble.
If Howard is going to injured reserve, the Steelers would be better served using that roster spot on extra depth at a different position and just signing Thompson to the practice squad if he clears waivers, or another signal-caller if he doesn't.
If another team offers a seventh-round pick for Thompson, the Steelers shouldn't hesitate to take it.
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