TOMLIN MIGHT PLAY HOWARD

Here's an excerpt from my latest TribLive.com column:

One hundred and eighty-four choices were made before the Steelers took Will Howard. He isn’t the guy. Not now, not ever.

There’s nothing wrong with being a solid backup. It pays pretty well. Ask Mason Rudolph.

But, yeah, give the kid a chance. (Like the Browns did Shedeur Sanders. What a disaster.)

Actually, Mike Tomlin might.

Not to start. But maybe Howard plays if Rudolph struggles.

Tomlin has never given Rudolph proper respect, and he’s clueless when it comes to quarterbacks.

To read more, click HERE.

There's precedent for this sort of stupidity on Tomlin's part.

In 2019, Ben Roethlisberger popped his elbow in the season's second game. Rudolph deputized.

But despite going 5-3 as a starter, Rudolph got benched for undrafted free agent Duck Hodges in Week 13. Rudolph didn't start the rest of the season, hurting his shoulder during a Week 16 relief appearance and going on injured reserve.

The Steelers finished 2019 by losing three straight, going 8-8 and missing the playoffs.

Hodges was 3-3, posted incredibly bad stats - 5 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 71.4 passer rating - and never played another NFL game.

Benching Rudolph for Hodges was a monstrously idiotic decision, obviously hunch-based with zero logic backing it up.

It could happen again. Howard could play.

Because, to repeat, Tomlin is clueless when it comes to quarterbacks.