Could Steelers rookie minicamp see a QB contest?

Mike McCarthy will hold his first Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp this weekend, and he'll be in hog heaven. Anyone who has spent any amount of time around McCarthy knows he's fanatical about the finest details of quarterback development, especially with young players at the position. When the rookies report to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex today, Medina Township native Drew Allar will go through his first NFL practice, and there is a chance Will Howard will join him. Teams are allowed to have five veteran players participate in rookie minicamp, and Howard is a good candidate to get the extra reps because he missed about two months of practice time last year when he was dealing with a fractured right hand in August and September. Even if Howard doesn't join the fray until OTAs, the novelty of having two young passers on the roster has sparked a conversation about quarterback development. There is a theory that not enough practice time exists to properly develop both players at the same time, but McCarthy and others have done it in the past. In 2008, the year Aaron Rodgers was entering his first season as a starter after waiting for three seasons behind Brett Favre, the Packers selected two quarterbacks in the draft. They took Brian Brohm in the second round and Matt Flynn in the seventh round. Rodgers, of course, went on to become one of the NFL's best quarterbacks of all time, but the story behind the Brohm-Flynn dynamic is worth telling. Flynn beat out Brohm to back up Rodgers as a rookie, and Brohm spent his second NFL season on Green Bay's practice squad. He played for the Buffalo Bills for two seasons before he finished out his career in the UFL and CFL. Flynn, meanwhile, signed a big free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012 months after he threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in his first NFL win, which came against the Detroit Lions. A couple of points to note: Draft slot means nothing in the NFL. Brohm was a second-round pick, and McCarthy only needed a few months on the practice field with him and Flynn to determine Flynn was the better player. That's certainly not the norm with high draft picks, but Howard being a sixth-round pick and Allar a third-round pick means absolutely nothing. l McCarthy made the evaluation while getting Rodgers ready for his first season as a starter in the NFL. Now, he could be doing it 18 years later with a 42-year-old Rodgers playing the role of seasoned veteran. One of the reasons McCarthy is unmoved by Rodgers taking his time deciding if he'll play the upcoming season is the extra work Howard and Allar can get if he's not here. Even if Rodgers does sign in the coming weeks, it will be Howard, Allar and Mason Rudolph getting the bulk of the reps in OTAs. It's the perfect time to get a long look at Howard and Allar. "I believe in having three — potentially we'd love to have four if we can make one work on the practice squad," McCarthy said last month. "I've always done it this way. We're developing the whole room because when we get started, the lead guy has his specific roles and responsibilities, but all the other guys, too, have responsibilities in that room. That's why you've got to develop all of them." Neither Brohm nor Flynn went on to come an NFL starter, but quarterbacks selected in the middle and later rounds rarely turn into starters. There is much hope surrounding Howard and Allar as prospects, but the Steelers remain players in the 2027 quarterback draft bonanza. That is unless Howard or Allar is so impressive this year that they settle on one of them as their future starter. History suggests otherwise, however. It's much more likely Howard and Allar become suitable backups. The Steelers need to look no further than Mason Rudolph, the No. 76 overall pick in the 2018 draft. He's played well in spurts as a spot fill-in, but he never developed into an starter. Allar was selected in the exact same draft slot, No. 76 this year, and Howard with the No. 185 pick last year. There are other NFL coaches who have successfully developed two young quarterbacks at the same time and found starters. In 2012, the Washington Redskins selected Robert Griffin III in the first round and Kirk Cousins in the fourth. Griffin made just 42 career starts and was out of the NFL by 2020. Cousins, meanwhile, is entering his 15th season and has started 167 games. Cousins' early development came under Mike Shanahan — like McCarthy a quarterback guru with a strong background in the West Coast offense. His offensive coordinator was his son, Kyle Shanahan, who has since led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl twice as a head coach. Like father like son, Kyle ultimately found his future franchise quarterback in the most unlikely of places. In 2022, Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant — the final pick of the draft. It didn't take Shanahan long to figure out the pecking order. By the end of training camp that year, Shanahan privately told 49ers president Jed York he thought Purdy was his best quarterback, even though Trey Lance was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Purdy ended up starting five games as a rookie and became the full-time starter in 2023, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Purdy is another example of how competition between two young quarterbacks can lead, sometimes unexpectedly, to finding a starting quarterback. The Steelers are at the very beginning of the process with Howard and Allar. In the end, it might not be about developing two young players at the same time. It might be about identifying which one has the stuff of a future NFL starter. That can happen quickly or take some time. Buckle up, Steelers fans. The 2026 quarterback saga is only just beginning.