Will Howard injury update: Mike Tomlin provides timeline for return, addresses surgery possibility

One day after news broke of Will Howard’s hand injury, Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin provided an update. He said the former Ohio State quarterback is week-to-week.

Howard suffered a broken finger, Tomlin told reporters Wednesday. He suffered the injury during Tuesday’s practice, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported he is expected to miss three weeks as a result.

Tomlin didn’t provide an exact timeline for Howard to come back, but added surgery does not appear to be an option at this point. However, he confirmed the quarterback is out for this week’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“Regarding Will Howard’s hand injury, he’s got a broken finger,” Tomlin said, via Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola. “It can be characterized as week-to-week. He’s looking at his options, and I may have more information when it’s definitive, but he’s certainly out this week. It appears to be non-surgical, and so we’ll see where the road leads us there.”

The Steelers selected Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a decorated college career at Kansas State and Ohio State. He led the Buckeyes to a national championship in his lone season with the program in 2024 as he threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Mike Tannenbaum: Will Howard will be Steelers’ starter by December

On Pittsburgh’s initial depth chart released earlier this week, Howard was listed as the No. 3 quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. Rodgers is in line to be the starter to start the year after signing a one-year contract this offseason.

However, ESPN analyst and former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum predicted that might not be the case all season. He said Howard would become the starter by December.

“Will Howard will be starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers by Dec. 1,” Tannenbaum said. “Will Howard led Ohio State to the National Championship — 89 QBR and 35 touchdown passes. If he was a little better in the offseason before the draft, he could have been a third or fourth-round pick. Aaron Rodgers is an all-time great, but he will be 42 in December. Last year, Pittsburgh gave up sacks at the 28th highest rate, meaning they were not very good protecting the passer.

“So, when you have a 42-year-old quarterback, no offseason program, an offensive line that should, in fairness, be better because Troy Fautanu is coming back — I think Will Howard has a meaningful chance to be the quarterback of the future and Mike Tomlin will play the best players. By the time we get to December, watch what happens.”