While the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves waiting on a decision from 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, head coach Mike Tomlin expressed confidence in veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph being the possible starter Sunday and Monday during the NFL owners meetings in Florida.
Having been through the fire with Rudolph as the starter during parts of the 2019 season and late in the 2023 season, Tomlin has the experience with him in big moments. And, to Rudolph’s credit, he delivered in 2023 leading the Steelers to three straight wins in Weeks 16-18 to help get them into the playoffs.
Despite being in Tennessee for one season, there remains trust and comfort in Rudolph from Tomlin. But for ESPN’s Louis Riddick, the Steelers are very clearly trying to do more at the quarterback position than just rely on Rudolph to start in 2025.
“I mean, come on now. He’s [Tomlin] comfortable with it because he knows Mason [Rudolph] and he understands what their ceiling is with Mason. He knows that they can line up and execute the offense and they can actually put a team out there, put 11 guys out there on the offensive side and they won’t embarrass themselves. But Pittsburgh’s trying to level up, man,” Riddick said Tuesday on SportsCenter, according to video via ESPN. “They’re trying to win the [AFC] North. They’re trying to be a team that’s gonna be a true contender in AFC and Mason’s just not gonna get you there. And that’s not being disrespectful to him. That’s why they have a standing offer out to Aaron Rodgers right now.
“And that’s why it would, come draft time, I would bet a significant amount of money that Pittsburgh’s gonna be a player, maybe even in the first round, for a quarterback. And look, I’ve said it now for the past couple of weeks. Tyler Shough has to be someone from Louisville that they were strongly considering in that draft position or in a trade-down type of scenario, because Mason Rudolph is just not gonna get them to where ultimately they need to go.”
While Tomlin and the Steelers might have some confidence and comfort in Rudolph as the starting quarterback in 2025, should that need to be the case, they can’t just go into the season with Rudolph, maybe another veteran signing that won’t really challenge him, and Skylar Thompson at the position.
All signs indicate Rodgers is going to sign with the Steelers, and even if he does, the Steelers need to be looking at the quarterback group in the 2025 NFL Draft, whether that’s in the first round or later.
Riddick is high on Shough and has stated in the past that the Steelers are “kicking the tires” on him. He fits the bill as a big, strong, physical franchise-quarterback type.
Shough measured in at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at 6047, 219 pounds with 9 3/4-inch hands and ran a 4.63 40-yard dash. He’s coming off a very good season at Louisville, throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns to just six interceptions, while completing 62.7% of his passes.
He led the Cardinals to eight wins, though he did skip the bowl game.
The downside is he’ll be 26 as a rookie, was a two-time transfer from Oregon and Texas Tech, and never quite had a productive season until his stop in Louisville.
But with his size, arm strength and tape, he’s generating quite a bit of buzz, and has been connected to the Steelers lately in the pre-draft process, especially after they hosted him for a pre-draft visit.
If the Steelers are trying to level up at the quarterback position, the best bet would be to wait until the 2026 NFL Draft and grab a QB in that projected loaded class. If not, they could swing big at the position in this year’s draft and try to achieve the leveling up that way to avoid rolling with Rudolph all season, should Aaron Rodgers choose not to sign.
