Would the Steelers keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster?

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With quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, the Steelers now have four quarterbacks on the offseason roster. Eventually, they'll be required to cut the roster to 53. Which could mean they’ll be moving on from one of the three quarterbacks not named Aaron Rodgers. Or will they? Chris Simms and I talked it through during Monday's PFT Live . And we came to the conclusion that they'll possibly keep all of them — Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar. It rarely ever happens. Three, for most teams, is the maximum. (Plenty only keep two.) Still, this could be one of those unique situations in which a team keeps four quarterbacks after the cuts are made. As to Rudolph, the Steelers need a veteran who can play in a pinch. A guy who is game ready. A guy who can step in if Rodgers is injured during a game. And Rudolph has 34 regular-season appearances and 19 starts, with a 9-9-1 record. As to Allar, they just used a third-round pick to draft him. Even if they need to re-teach him the position from the ground up (and they apparently do), cutting Allar would be an admission that they wasted a prime pick, the 76th overall selection. As to Howard, the Steelers spent plenty of time in the offseason talking him up. McCarthy supposedly loves him. Cutting him would expose their comments as the smokescreen many believed they were. Yes, Allar or Howard — if cut — could be signed to the practice squad. But first they'd have to get through waivers. Any other team could make a claim. And if they aren't claimed by another team, wouldn't that be a loud and clear indictment that neither guy should have been drafted? The safe way to save face would be to trade Allar or Howard. Or to cut Rudolph (who wouldn't be subject to waivers) and sign him to the practice squad. They could then elevate Rudolph for game days and make him the backup quarterback. But Rudolph would have to be willing to not sign to another team's active roster, for that strategy to work. In the end, the only practical solution could be to keep all four of them on the 53-man roster. Which would make them shorthanded at some other position, by one player. With Rodgers back, it's a good problem to have. Still, the only good problem is no problem. With four quarterbacks, the Steelers eventually will have a problem to solve as to how the rest of the depth chart fits into the 53-man limit.