Steelers Rookie Will Howard Says His Injury Was One That Surprised Even Team Doctors
Howard finished drill before realizing he couldn't grip football
Former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard is getting his NFL career underway with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup to Aaron Rodgers, but this summer, he sustained an injury that even surprised the team doctors.
You've got to figure that an NFL doctor who has been in the sport for years has seen just about every injury that can happen with any kind of regularity in football.
However, Howard said that he suffered one during training camp that was new to the Steelers' medical staff.
"It was an under-center snap, was how it happened," Howard said on the Downs 2 Business podcast, hosted by his former Buckeyes teammate Caleb Downs and his brother, Colts receiver Josh Downs. "The doctors were like, 'We've never seen anything like this happen.'"
Howard said that the snap forced his pinky out to the side and broke a bone on the side of his hand.
"Everyone was like, 'I thought you just jammed your finger,'" he continued.
I'll be honest, I'm kind of surprised that injury doesn't happen way more frequently. Having some dude wing a football right into your hands from like a foot away seems like a pretty good way to break a digit.
It turns out, in Howard's case, it was.
Howard said he finished the drill, but realized something was up when he couldn't hold the football.
"I finished that drill, had a couple plays, then I went to the next drill," he said. "I couldn't even grab the football," Howard said. "I was like, 'Something is messed up, I have to get this checked out.' And I went up, I was like, 'I'll be right back down. I'm just going to get X-rayed, make sure I'm cool.' Went up there, sure enough, it was broken."
That's a rough way to start your NFL career, but Howard talked about making sure, while he was sidelined, he took as many "mental reps" by watching Aaron Rodgers do his thing.
The Steelers will open their season on Sunday against the New York Jets (fitting, huh?).