Who Should I Start? Shane Buechele or Will Howard

Saturday, August 23, 11:47 PM

Buffalo Bills quarterback Shane Buechele turned in the team's best passing performance of the preseason in a 23-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. The 27-year-old demonstrated pinpoint accuracy throughout the night, completing 25 of his 30 attempts for 278 yards and a touchdown. He also used his mobility to his advantage and added another 20 yards on five rushes. Buechele played the entire game with the Bills' top three QBs - Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mike White - on the sideline. Trubisky and White have spent the summer battling for the No. 2 job, a role Buechele stands little to no chance of winning. His best bet to stay in the organization for a third straight year may be via the practice squad. Buechele was on Buffalo's practice squad in 2023, and he spent last year on Injured Reserve after suffering a neck injury in the preseason.

Monday, September 1, 11:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (hand) remains in line to operate as the team's No. 3 quarterback once he's healthy enough to play. For now, Howard will miss the first four games of the regular season after being placed on injured reserve. However, once Pittsburgh activates him, he should replace Skylar Thompson as the third-string quarterback behind veterans Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. Howard had an impressive senior season at Ohio State as he completed 73 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to a national title. Howard didn't get into a preseason game, so Pittsburgh would truly need to have a quarterback emergency for the rookie to play a snap this season. However, plenty of teams have been forced to play or even start their third-string quarterback before, so we can't rule out Howard getting some reps when he's eventually activated in Week 5 or later.