Is Howard hand fully healed?

I was counting his one playoff game too against the Bills.

 

Unless something out of the norm happens, it won't affect anything. Harris wasn't even in the running at the end of the offseason. His contract amount slotted him as a 7th round comp, which was then scratched by the Steelers signing Harrison.

The Steelers already had four comp picks (the max). Wilson represented a 5th. At worst he drops to a 6th with snap count, but again, unlikely. Worst case: a 3rd, 4th and two 6ths.

 

His finger should be healed by now but I can't find any recent updates.

 

Howard's best play is on the bench.
If he were 'lighting it up' in preseason and practice, then you might have an argument.
But he wasn't and isn't.
So, his option is to learn from of one football's best QB's, and apply those lessons to his daily routine and show it.
I don't dislike Howard, and I liked what I saw in camp but I also could see that he is more of a project that probably will be backup QB.
I would love for him to prove otherwise.

 

It’s kind of hard to light it up in preseason when you go on IR before preseason even starts. JS.

 

Therefore, he did not light it up.
But he did practice some and he did not light it up.
They liked what they saw and that's promising but I've heard no endorsement or hand-wringing that 'can't wait till he comes off IR.'

 

Rodgers is old and rates 31st out of 32 QB's when pressured. He won't hold up to the pounding anyway. The Steelers might be forced to make the switch to Rudy or Howard in week #5. That's the bye week.

 

That's speculative at best my friend.
Yes, Rogers is a concern and he has 7 sacks on him now and a few hits.
We definitely need to be concerned with those facts.

In the meantime, his arm is showing no signs of wearing down.
He insists he has no stiffness or lingering issues.

So, planning for the big "If"
Tomlin is going to use Mason... that is pretty much in stone.
If Rogers is forced out of the season then I think yet another surprise is in store.
1. Mason
2. Skylar
3. Howard (Inacative)

This goes against the depth chart but Howard and Skylar on listed on IR. So depth chart is just a number.
Tomlin has mentioned some things that lead me to believe, they are going to keep Howard as an understudy.

Upcoming Defenses
Minny is next, and they can get after the QB but I think they are no better than Seattle, so hopefully we figure out how to block.
Cleveland after the bye, so Rogers gets a rest and then faces a pretty stiff defense.
Cincy has a good DE but their defense stinks to high heaven.
Green Bay. I know Rogers is living for this one. But that is also a pretty stout defense and can get after a QB. (Parsons)
Well, to cut it short, Cincy is the only bad defense we play, maybe Miami. They may beat him up but whose to say when.
I'm on team Rogers and I am hoping we keep his uniform clean.

 

Rodgers arm is fine, BUT he gives up early in plays and no longer has the body to take hits or legs to avoid them. He throws the ball away quickly. This opting out of plays early is a common theme from him. How long can it be tolerated? Very old Qb's need good OL's to function. He went to the only team that offer him a starting job

It is not a question of if rather it's when he gets hurt. Rudolph did not impress me this pre-season. However, Howard really did in camp. I'd roll with him for 3 games and have Rudy waiting when Rodgers gets hurt.

 

If I understand it correctly, once on IR, a player must miss 4 games. After that 4 games, if they want to bring him back they voice the intent to do so and then have 3 weeks to bring him back. During this period, he can practice and act like he is active. Also, if I read it right, once he misses 4 games on IR, they could literally say we are bringing him back and dress him for the next day's game, correct?

That is the part that is a bit foggy for me. Once they say they are bringing him back, is there any minimum time to bring him back to go with the 21 day maximum?

 

Some QBs can jump into the fire and do well, most can't. I would far rather have Howard get some time to learn from a successful veteran with a long career behind him than to be throw into the fire with a poor O line. Putting him in to early is likely to spoil him for the future IMO. Waiting gives him a chance to gain knowledge from AR, and a bit of time to improve the O line with another draft, time and trades. So I really hope we don't find ourselves in a spot where Howard is seen as the answer during this season.

The Steelers have a poor history of developing QBs. Throwing Howard in to soon is one quick path to continuing that trend.

 

They can't practice on IR is why I am curious if Howard is still on IR. So when a Steelers put a young player on IR they are not even allowed to practice with the team that year. Would explain players like Roman Wilson, Cory Trice, and Calvin Austin not getting any better their rookie year as they were NOT allowed to practice with the team.

I believe once a team opens the 21 day window, the player can return to practice, but has to be off IR in 21 days, or he is out for the season.

 

From what I found.... Howard is expected back in week 5. He is currently throwing passes in practice.


So, week to week.

 

Yep - an IR player must miss at least four games (not four weeks - bye weeks don't count); once activated for return, the team has 21 days to promote him to the active roster, after which point they're done for the season if not. During that window they may practice with the team.

There's no required time after announcing a return they must serve (of the 21-day window). It's there for the player to re-acclimate with the team, but he can be promoted up as soon as the team deems fit.

 

As long as the Steelers are alive for the playoffs, they will go with Mason if AR goes down. They do not consider this a rebuilding year. They are not going to play Howard just to see what he has unless they are out of the playoffs. For Howard to come in ahead of Mason if AR goes down is if he somehow showed in practice that he was better than Mason and gave them the best chance to win right now which doesn't seem likely.

 

The sooner the better. He is the heir apparent, and his 4-year Super Bowl window is ticking.

 

oh really neat find from a heralded sorcerer

https://thesteelersfans.com/forums/posts/1421279/



A lot of people here are under estimating here.

Will will will this team to victory sooner than anticipated.
Will will have plenty of playing time this year.
MR will have gobs of playing time because AR will have this team wnnng games with huge leads.
Yes AR will be relieved by MR week 6-7 because of some controversial groin injury.
That's when Will will have gobs and gobs of playing time because MR carried on AR MO of wnnng hugely.
Eventually, Will will will the team on his own week 12-13 because MR suffered what AR suffered from with AR not completely 100%

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