Will Howard and Drew Allar are finally about to step into a game again. The Steelers open their 2026 preseason against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, and both quarterbacks are expected to get their first live action after long injury layoffs.
That is why Howard’s comments on Monday landed with extra force. He said he was “so fired up” and could not wait for the game, adding that he would treat preseason football as real football and make the most of his reps. For a quarterback who has not played in 873 days, 124 weeks, or nearly 29 months, the opener is not just another exhibition. It is the first chance to turn training-camp work into something that counts for evaluation.
Howard’s last meaningful football memory is still vivid. In January 2025, he led Ohio State past Notre Dame for the national championship in Atlanta, completing 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns without an interception while rushing 16 times for 57 yards. Since then, his long pause from live play ended after a finger injury, and the Steelers have been working to fold him back into a full offense without rushing the process.
Allar has been doing the same thing from a different starting point. His layoff ended after an ankle injury, but he has been getting plenty of snaps in training camp after the Steelers drafted him with their first of three third-round picks. After Saturday night’s practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium, he said he had to learn as much as he could, as fast as he could. Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph and Howard have been helping him absorb the system during practice.
That learning curve is real, but preseason football does not always behave like practice. Rodgers said the first live snaps are valuable because quarterbacks see athleticism in a way they do not in camp. In practice, he said, there are “sacks” and extended plays, but it changes when the rush is real and the player has to move, protect himself and avoid trying to be a hero. He said it is not college anymore, where the bodies coming after a quarterback are bigger, stronger and faster. He also said he is excited to watch both Howard and Allar.
The Steelers are getting something they have not had for a long time: a first in-game look at two young quarterbacks who have spent months recovering and then weeks learning. Howard has already said he will treat the preseason as football, not filler. Allar has said he has to learn fast. Thursday night should show whether that work translates once the rush arrives for real.
It also comes with a little symmetry. Rodgers said it was 21 years ago this week, also on a Thursday night at home, that he was poised to make his debut. Now he is on the other side of the moment, helping watch over two quarterbacks trying to make their own first impression in the same kind of setting.
