One of the biggest disappointments of the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason occurred before the first game, when rookie quarterback Will Howard sustained a fracture on his throwing hand during an awkward exchange on a snap. Initially reported by Ian Rapoport as a fracture of a small bone in his hand, it was next described by Mike DeFabo as a broken pinky finger. In a more recent interview with Howard, DeFabo clarified the injury as a spiral fracture.
Howard did not require surgery for this fracture, unlike the left wrist injury he sustained in high school.