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Will Howard is fine living in Mr. Rodgers’ neighborhood.
Aaron Rodgers remains in a free-agent flirtation with the Steelers, who are proceeding through OTAs with veteran journeyman Mason Rudolph, the rookie sixth-round pick Howard and newcomer Skylar Thompson taking all the snaps.
If Rodgers signs with the Steelers — as he is hinting could happen — then any competition to start is over, and Howard will spend his rookie year on the bench.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Howard told FanDuel TV’s Kay Adams in his first comment on Rodgers. “That’s all over my head. But I’d love to be in a room and learn from him. Again, who knows what’s going to happen.”
That’s a smart approach by Howard.
Sure, he just led Ohio State to the national championship and saved his best for the four-game playoff run, but Rodgers is more amenable to passing along knowledge than his mentor Brett Favre was.
Look at Jordan Love’s successful first two seasons starting for the Packers, after spending three on the bench behind Rodgers.
Whether or not Rodgers comes to Pittsburgh, Howard already has attached himself to a future Hall of Famer.
Ben Roethlisberger, who quarterbacked the Steelers to two Super Bowl wins in 18 seasons but lost one head-to-head Super Bowl to Rodgers, and Howard have begun a friendship.
“They need like a gritty guy,” Howard said of Steelers fans. “Growing up for me, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and Big Ben, Big Ben was that guy. He was Pittsburgh. He was the Steel City, the blue collar and gritty guy. And I want to be that, too. I want to bring that edge and that energy. I think I did a pretty good job of it at Ohio State, and I kind of like to pride myself on that. And I’m going to try and bring it to the Steel City.”
Way back when, Howard lost a competition to start for Kansas State in 2021 to his now-Steelers teammate Thompson.
But he has come a long way since then, including two years starting at Kansas State before Ohio State.
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