Ben Roethlisberger Offers Advice To Incoming Steelers Rookie QB

Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t tuned out from the team since retiring three years ago.

The 43-year-old paid close attention when it became time for the Steelers to make their selections throughout last week’s 2025 NFL Draft, and Roethlisberger has since empathized with one incoming rookie: Will Howard, selected 185th overall in the sixth round out of Ohio State. The expectation was for Pittsburgh to select a quarterback, but the forecast didn’t project that pick to come in the sixth round or it to be Howard, either.

Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders remained up for grabs once it became time for the Steelers to pick at No. 21, but the team passed on the 23-year-old and instead went with defensive tackle Derrick Harmon from Oregon. It was arguably the biggest shocker of the draft, and it left Pittsburgh with Howard and Mason Rudolph, a veteran with limited starting experience, along with Skylar Thompson on the team’s quarterback depth chart.

“(Howard) needs to understand, and I would tell him this: You don’t have pressure, bud,” Roethlisberger said on his podcast, per Sports Illustrated. “You’re a sixth-rounder. There’s no pressure. He should go into this thing with like, (the mentality of), I can play free. I have no pressure.”

Roethlisberger added: “He should come in here with the mindset of this is my job. I want to be the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the next 15, 18, 20 years. That should be his mentality. Now I hope and I would tell him to do it the right way.”

Howard spent four seasons at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State. That decision paid dividends quickly for Howard, as he led the Buckeyes to a successful College Football Playoff National Championship appearance against Notre Dame and was named the Offensive MVP after Ohio State’s 34-23 victory.

Now, as a full-time professional, Howard could stumble across the opportunity of a lifetime in Pittsburgh. The team doesn’t have a definitive starting quarterback and so far, banking on 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers hasn’t gone well, either. Rudolph isn’t a runaway candidate, so if Howard buckles down, gets to work and leaves a good impression on head coach Mike Tomlin, chances to take the field for meaningful snaps could open up this upcoming season.

It’s not a given, of course, but the Steelers would be wise to keep an open-minded approach moving forward. The organization’s options are slim, so getting to see what Howard could develop into in the near future wouldn’t be a bad idea.

More Steelers: NFL Insider: Steelers ‘Might Regret’ Aaron Rodgers-Influenced Draft Decision