It sounds as if the Steelers’ quarterback room will be a crowded one.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy said it was “a very accurate evaluation” when asked after Thursday’s preseason game against the Bills if his quartet of signal-callers — Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and rookie Drew Allar — would be on the Steelers’ roster come Week 1.

“I feel good about the quarterback room,” McCarthy said. “I’ve been saying it for quite some time, and they’ve shown it on the field. We got two veterans that we can win with, and we got two young guys that we’re excited about the future.”

Carrying four quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster would be unusual, with most teams carrying three QBs at most.

With the 42-year-old Rodgers as their starter, the Steelers have taken quarterbacks in the draft in each of the past two years, selecting Howard in the sixth round in 2025 and using a third-round pick on Allar last April.

Despite Rudolph being the presumed backup behind Rodgers, it appears neither Howard or Allar have done anything this summer to convince McCarthy the Steelers should risk losing one of them.

Howard started Thursday’s 28-27 loss to Buffalo and completed nine of 15 passes for 69 yards, two touchdowns and an interception before being evaluated for a head injury after taking several hard hits.

Allar took over in the second half and completed nine of 18 passes for 88 yards while leading one touchdown drive in five possessions.

Both young quarterbacks showed encouraging signs earlier in the preseason as well. 

In Pittsburgh’s 28-9 win over Green Bay, Howard went 7-for-9 for 86 yards while Allar completed 10 of 13 passes for 153 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.

In a perfect world for the Steelers, neither will have to take a meaningful snap this season and will compete for the starting job in 2027 when Rodgers hangs up his cleats.