WillHoward

News: 7 days agoHoward (coach's decision) is inactive and will serve as Pittsburgh's emergency third quarterback for Monday's AFC wild-card game versus Houston, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Spin: This is a familiar role for Howard, as he's been Pittsburgh's emergency QB every week since coming off IR in mid-November. Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph will continue to serve as the Steelers' QB1 and QB2, respectively, while Howard will be eligible to enter Monday's game only if both quarterbacks ahead of him have to exit due to injury, illness or ejection.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Howard was selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round of April's draft. The biggest QB in this class, Howard made a nice leap last season, impressing in 16 games at Ohio State with class-best marks in QBR (89.6) and sack rate (3.1%). That was a major improvement from his underwhelming efficiency during four seasons at Kansas State. Howard didn't scramble much, but still averaged a solid 6.6 carries per start in his career, which worked out to a 284-1,466-26 rushing line. He'll battle for the team's No. 3 gig.