Player: QB Mason Rudolph
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Mason Rudolph becomes more valuable to the Steelers the longer the Aaron Rodgers situation goes unresolved. At least for now, there is a non-zero chance he enters this season as a starter. Indeed, Rodgers’ delay helped strengthen that by limiting the Steelers’ veteran alternative options.
If the Steelers enter the 2025 season with Mason Rudolph starting at quarterback, he has Aaron Rodgers to thank. While Rodgers contemplates retirement among other things, Rudolph is gearing up for the season. He is only one of two quarterbacks on the current roster, and the one clearly on top of the pecking order.
Obviously, the Steelers have a lengthy history with Rudolph, who played here from 2018 through 2023. He left last season in free agency but is back after only one year away. The team did change offensive systems since then, so there is a newness there, but it knows what he offers.
Beat writers remain skeptical that the team would draft a first-round quarterback. Most seem to maintain that if it’s not Rodgers, the Steelers will go with Mason Rudolph, at least initially. They will likely draft somebody, and perhaps he has a chance to take over at some point if the team is struggling.
But for now, in the week of the draft, Rudolph is the Steelers’ top quarterback. And there is a possibility that he is their top quarterback when the regular season starts. Personally, I don’t expect that to happen, because I think Rodgers ends up signing.
But unless or until he does, it’s good news for Rudolph. The fact that he already has that experience with the Steelers only helps his cause. Even though he hasn’t worked with Arthur Smith, Smith had to review his film from the previous season. The reason they brought him back is because they know they can work with him. They just don’t know to what extent that will be necessary, and probably won’t for some time.
With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract.
There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. Once the dust settles on free agency, we turn our attention to the draft, and so on. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
