For the rest of the preseason, I’m handing out Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp grades. Position-by-position, we’ll evaluate each Steeler who spent training camp with the team to reveal the good, bad, and ugly. This is based on the team’s 14 public training camp practices and preseason performances through the date of each article. This grade looks at camp performance in a vacuum. Nothing else is evaluated.
Starting our Steelers’ camp grades with the quarterbacks.
Mason Rudolph
Mason Rudolph is the ideal No. 2 quarterback. And in his return to Pittsburgh, he was excellent. Rudolph has always run and managed offenses well, and in camp settings like these, he can flourish. His production was excellent. He led all quarterbacks in completion percentage (67.9), passing yards (1,185), YPA (7.6), and YPC (11.2). His interception rate was also lower than that of Aaron Rodgers.
It’s hard to find fault with Rudolph. Like the other quarterbacks, he didn’t often test the Steelers’ secondary downfield in the early goings as the offense was locked up through the first week. But Rudolph showed his arm later in camp, hitting TE Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith for 25-plus yard gains. Late in camp, he found TE Pat Freiermuth running free down the middle of the field for a 70-yard touchdown.
Rudolph shined in the preseason opener, going a perfect 7-of-7 for 70 yards and a touchdown to Washington to cap the drive off. For as much as Rodgers gets praised for finding his tight ends, Rudolph did as much, if not more.
Mike Tomlin and Steelers’ fans know Rudolph well. His summer wasn’t a surprise. But it’s his first year connected with OC Arthur Smith, and Rudolph’s play had to have earned plenty of trust from Smith in case his number is called mid-season.
Camp Grade: A-
Aaron Rodgers
Still hard to believe Rodgers is the Steelers’ quarterback. No matter what kind of summer he has, all Rodgers will be judged and remembered by is his fall and winter with the team. Play well and win? He’ll be beloved. Struggle and lose? His Pittsburgh chapter can’t close quickly enough.
The most relevant question when judging a 41-year-old four-time MVP in training camp is: Can he still play? The answer – yes. Rodgers can still sling it. In fact, his arm strength is the best Pittsburgh has had in years, including Ben Roethlisberger’s last several seasons. With a clean pocket, Rodgers still hums the ball. So hard that his receivers occasionally had trouble hauling in his throws. Tight end Connor Heyward had the funniest flub (to us, not him, anyway), after a Rodgers throw down the seam rocketed off Heyward’s facemask and was picked by linebacker Patrick Queen.
Rodgers looks mobile—mobile enough, at least. He certainly spent part of training camp testing it. Left or right, Rodgers wasn’t afraid to roll out and throw on the run. He’s certainly not as athletic as he was at his peak, but he flashed the ability to throw off-platform, making one great fallaway throw to WR Robert Woods.
Over time, his chemistry with WR DK Metcalf grew. The two got off to a shaky start but heated up mid-way through camp. When Metcalf broke open the middle, Rodgers found him on 40 and 55-yard completions. During Friday Night Lights, a perfectly thrown Cover 2 hole shot hit Metcalf squarely in the hands. He dropped the throw. I’ll chart it in a separate post, but Metcalf was Rodgers’ most frequent target by far. He was also willing to find TE Darnell Washington, especially in the red zone. Rodgers is certainly confident in throwing to the middle of the field.
Though not “new,” Rodgers’ quick release is something worth the price of admission (ignore that training camp is free). Visibly, it’s the most unique part of his game. He’s able to change his arm slot to throw around defenders, get the ball out against the blitz, and he even made a handful of no-look passes. His release isn’t just short. It looks like a glitch in the matrix. A ripple in the universe. The ball’s in his hands, then it’s not, and there’s nothing in-between.
Much of Rodgers’ camp was about the intangible. Building chemistry with teammates, working his way into leadership. And Rodgers seems to have done both. He made it a point to position himself in the stretch line with the defense. He’d talk to more than just the stars. One day, it might be DeMarvin Leal. Another, it might be one of the team’s many trainers. When Rodgers acknowledges the importance of integrating himself into part of the team, he walks the walk.
Rodgers wasn’t often animated at practice, but his frustration at camp seeped through at times. None more so than the final day of camp, when he was visibly angry after an incompletion to rookie RB Kaleb Johnson. At smaller levels, the same proved true for WR Roman Wilson.
Rodgers’ hard count is clear and effective. He’s still using the “Green 19” cadence he’s utilized throughout his career. Like Russell Wilson, his cadence is a weapon. It tips blitzes and causes players to jump offside, though in one instance, Kaleb Johnson flinched early.
There were blips. It was far from perfect, something to be expected knowing Rodgers’ first 11-on-11 reps didn’t start until arriving at training camp. He’s effectively only been practicing with the team for three weeks. His completion percentage was abnormally low for a camp quarterback, sub-59 percent. He threw eight interceptions, including one on his very first pass attempt. Juan Thornhill picked him twice in the two-minute drill, though in fairness, neither was an egregious mistake by Rodgers. He had several passes batted, partially due to his lower arm slot and partially due to the nature of practice. Defenses know the quarterback and the offense well and offensive linemen can’t knock d-linemen down like they can in a game.
Despite being 41, Rodgers received only one off-day. He received 245 camp reps, 17.5 per practice. By comparison, Ben Roethlisberger received 166 reps during his final training camp, 12.8 per practice. Pittsburgh needed him to get his reps in now, and he did.
Aaron Rodgers had a good camp—not a great one—but he showed what he needed to show: the arm, the leadership, the connection with DK. This was the warmup. Now, the real test begins.
Camp Grade: B
Skylar Thompson
Once an afterthought, Thompson garnered plenty of buzz for his strong preseason performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thompson threw for three touchdowns, making him the first Steelers quarterback in at least 30 years to throw a trio of them in an exhibition performance. He was calm in the pocket, accurate to all levels, and put the ball in the end zone time after time. He also ran a great two-minute drill in the game, matching what he did during the team’s final camp practice before Jacksonville. Both drives resulted in touchdowns.
Thompson took advantage of the reps created by Howard’s injury. Prior to that, his reps were limited—not as limited as Chris Oladokun in 2022, but after splitting reps with Howard fairly evenly early on, Howard had taken control before getting hurt.
In practice, Thompson was conservative. He had the lowest YPA and YPC of any of the team’s quarterbacks. But when needed, he pushed the ball and was accurate in doing so. His arm isn’t huge, but it’s functional, and there’s just enough athleticism to his game. I liked that he made most plays from the pocket.
Overall, Thompson’s camp performance shouldn’t come as a shock. He’s started a handful of regular-season and one playoff game. Training camp practices are old hat to him. Now, the conversation will be about whether Thompson has a future in Pittsburgh. A No. 3 if Howard lands on IR? Trade bait to a quarterback-needy team like the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints? A No. 4 quarterback if Pittsburgh wants to go really heavy? There are 12 days and two games to figure that out.
His camp alone was a lower grade than, say, Rodgers’, but Thompson’s strong in-stadium performance brings him up.
Camp Grade: B
Will Howard
Howard’s injury made for the bummer of the summer. A broken pinky finger on his right hand days before the preseason opener makes him the latest rookie to miss big chunks of his first camp: WR Roman Wilson in 2024, CB Cory Trice Jr. in 2023.
Before the injury, Howard was having a nice camp. No, he didn’t look like the second coming of Tom Brady, and it’s hard to believe Howard would live up to the weight of expectations placed on him. My impression of his camp was that the moment wasn’t too big for him. Plenty of rookies come in with a deer-in-headlights look. That manifests itself in a couple of ways. Quarterbacks who check down every pass, those who hold the ball forever, leading to “dead” plays with a blown whistle, and those who don’t seem decisive with the football.
Howard was none of those things. He knew where to go with the football. His throws came out on time. He beat the blitz. He threw just one pick during his worst practice, a forced throw snagged by S Sebastian Castro.
Now, Howard didn’t light up the Steelers’ defense. His numbers reflect that. His yards-per-completion were a full yard less than Rodgers and two for Rudolph. He didn’t have a singular downfield completion that truly “wow’d.” But Howard was smart, efficient, and operationally ran the show well except for a handful of handoffs and exchanges. There were multiple flubs, including a botched handoff shortly before he broke his finger (though according to Howard, it wasn’t the play he was injured on).
The broken finger forced him to miss the final four full days of camp. He’s likely to be out the rest of the preseason with only the slimmest of chances to get back for the finale. Even if cleared, a lack of reps will likely prevent him from playing. It stunts what was supposed to be a spotlight summer for a guy who isn’t supposed to see the field in the regular season.
Though his injury wasn’t significant and didn’t require surgery, it wouldn’t be shocking if the team placed Howard on IR-to-return during August 26th’s cutdowns. That would keep him out for the first four weeks. He wouldn’t be allowed to practice, but 2025 has always been more about him watching than playing. It’s just disappointing that Howard won’t get the chance to get inside a stadium until probably 2026.
Camp Grade: B-
Logan Woodside
Not much to note about Woodside. Signed as depth after Howard’s injury, he played only during the final drive of the Jaguars’ game. Two handoffs and a read option, where he reminded everyone that he’s not fast enough to run away from NFL defenders. Woodside didn’t receive a single team period rep in training camp, the team sticking with Rodgers, Rudolph, and Thompson instead.
Woodside has an extensive background with OC Arthur Smith. So much so that Smith was in Woodside’s wedding. But he’s just here to help get through practice. The team needs enough quarterbacks to throw during the individual period when receivers/tight ends and running backs are often working different drills at separate parts of the field. Once Howard is healthy, Woodside will be cut. And if Howard isn’t cleared by the cutdown date, Woodside will get axed then.
Not throwing a pass in team periods, there’s nothing to evaluate.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
