As the Pittsburgh Steelers await a decision from QB Aaron Rodgers, the team brought back QB Mason Rudolph, who played for the Steelers from 2018-2023 before leaving as a free agent last year and spending a season with the Tennessee Titans. Rudolph started the last three regular-season games and Pittsburgh’s playoff game in 2023 while also starting five games for the Titans last season. If the Steelers miss out on Rodgers, it’s not a far-fetched scenario that Rudolph could be the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback. Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero said that the Steelers could roll with Rudolph and a rookie quarterback next year.
“Worst case, if this doesn’t work out with Rodgers, you could just roll with Mason Rudolph,” Pelissero said. “I can’t tell you exactly what the percentage of likelihood it is, but I do think there’s a scenario where other things fall through and the Steelers roll with Mason Rudolph and maybe a draft pick atop their depth chart in 2025.”
Even if the Steelers do sign Rodgers, he’s 41 years old, and they could still look to the draft to find someone to try and develop. It likely won’t be a first-round draft pick, but a third- or fourth-round pick could be spent on a quarterback. If the team doesn’t sign Rodgers, then adding to the room will be a necessity, and doing so via the draft is the most likely scenario.
It wouldn’t be the ideal situation to go into the season with Rudolph as the starter, but Pittsburgh’s offense did look good with him at the end of 2023, and its passing attack should be improved with the addition of WR DK Metcalf. The quarterback market has thinned out to the point where there just aren’t many viable starting options left, and it’s not as if Rudolph doesn’t have starting experience in the league.
No one seems to have any idea when Rodgers will make his decision, and the longer it drags on, the more it feels like Mason Rudolph being Pittsburgh’s QB1 is a realistic option. If Russell Wilson finds a new home before Rodgers signs, Pittsburgh’s options in free agency would basically be down to Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston, and both of them, especially Winston, have issues with turnovers. That wouldn’t make either a fit in Pittsburgh’s offense. Rudolph, while not having played under OC Arthur Smith, at least knows the expectations in Pittsburgh and would be able to handle the pressure of being a starting quarterback.
As the quarterback carousel spins on, don’t rule out the Steelers starting a familiar face to open 2025.
