The Pittsburgh Steelers have a quarterback room consisting of Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Skylar Thompson right now. At least for the very immediate future, that’s a room worth being high on for Mark Kaboly. It’s not a room that comes without question marks, but on paper, the potential is there for something.
“I think the quarterback situation’s in a very, very good position right now”, the Steelers beat writer said on Kaboly + Mack. “Let’s just look at 2025. You’re having Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, and Will Howard. When was the last time they had a room like that? Five years”?
Five years isn’t that long ago, even though it might feel that way. Five years ago, the Steelers had a quarterback room of Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, and Joshua Dobbs. Roethlisberger was just coming back from a major elbow injury, though, and really wasn’t the same.
One could certainly argue that a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers — he turns 42 in December — might be a better quarterback for the Steelers than the 38-year-old Ben Roethlisberger. They might not have a better team, but they might get more out of the quarterback position.
And, well, Mason Rudolph is still Mason Rudolph, but arguably better now than he was then. Joshua Dobbs did some things in recent years, though it often felt like a fluke. But Steelers fans are high on their new quarterback right now in Will Howard. The good news for him is he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to disappoint anybody, which always helps.
But Mark Kaboly is talking about the Steelers having the best quarterback room in five years, which means in between. For a chunk of that, they had Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky, then Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. “It’s better than the Pickett-Trubisky-Rudolph, the Wilson-Fields and Kyle Allen” rooms, he argued.
“I think it’s a better group than it’s been in a long, long time”, he added with a little more relish about the Steelers’ current quarterbacks. “You’ve got the guy that can produce now, the guy that can produce as a bridge guy, and a potential of a long-term guy. You’ve got every level covered right now. Maybe they don’t all work out, but I think they’re in better position than they’ve been in in a long time”.
If that is the case, it might be more of an indictment of the Steelers’ recent history at quarterback. Arguably, the last very good season of quarterback play the Steelers had came in 2018. Yet they didn’t even make the playoffs that season, so a lot of good that did. What matters most is whether they have a better team—which is debatable, as well.
But do the Steelers have a better quarterback room than they’ve had “in a long, long time”? Is Aaron Rodgers that good of a starter? Mason Rudolph that good of a backup, or Will Howard that good of a developmental piece? Kaboly recently admitted that the spring is the time for optimism, so we’ll see what he says in August.
