Rodgers hates the new "spaceship" helmet, Howard suffers injury in Steelers

Aaron Rodgers and Will Howard Face Challenges in the Steelers

Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, although he seems to have found a good fit with the Pittsburgh Steelers, is still looking for comfort in his personal equipment. The helmet Rodgers wore last season, the Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD, was banned for not meeting the new safety standards. Therefore, Rodgers has been practicing with the Schutt Air XP Po VTD II, but he is not happy with it.

I don’t like it, no. I’m trying to change. We’re still in the process. It looks like a damn spaceship out there.
Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers also commented that the mask doesn’t fit the helmet correctly, as it is an old model. The quarterback has expressed his frustration with the helmet change since the summer minicamp. Meanwhile, young quarterback Will Howard faces challenges due to a “fortuitous accident” that caused a fracture in a finger of his throwing hand. Howard suffered the injury during a center-quarterback exchange last week. Although he initially thought he had only hurt his finger, he continued to participate in two more repetitions before realizing the severity of the situation.

I really couldn’t grip the ball and I thought something was wrong here. It didn’t feel right. I can usually tolerate pain pretty well, but I literally couldn’t grip the football, so I knew something was wrong.
Will Howard

The sixth-round player will not undergo surgery for the fracture, but is using a brace. Howard, who was third on the quarterback depth chart before the injury, describes the situation as “week-to-week”. Howard doesn’t know if he will be able to participate in the preseason games.

I don’t know. I really hope so. I’ll have to see how this heals, and I know I defer to Coach Tomlin for most of those things. I’m still taking it day by day, week by week, and doing what I can to be ready so I don’t have to prepare. So, if that opportunity presents itself, I’ll be ready, and I just want to stay in shape. I’d love to have the opportunity to go out there, and we’ll see what happens.
Will Howard