Player: QB Mason Rudolph
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: There seems to be increasing talk about the Steelers drafting a mid-round quarterback, which is bad for Mason Rudolph. Assuming Aaron Rodgers does sign, it would leave Rudolph as the odd man out in the quarterback room. Of course, multiple things have to happen before we reach that point, but it’s a very plausible one.
The Steelers have proven numerous times that they’re prepared to move on from Mason Rudolph. They let him walk without a second thought in 2024, and that was after the best stretch of his career. Last year, he only returned because he seemingly had no other options.
Those in the steadfast Mason Rudolph camp will maintain that the Steelers wouldn’t go into a season without an experienced backup. But just last year, the Browns carried two rookies behind Joe Flacco. And then they traded Flacco and went with two rookies. There’s absolutely no reason to believe, in other words, that the Steelers wouldn’t go with Will Howard and a rookie as backups to Aaron Rodgers.
Rudolph was the Steelers’ backup last year and even acted as a starter before Rodgers signed. There’s no question that he has the support of the locker room, at least. But not as much as Rodgers, and arguably not as much as even Howard. And if the Steelers were to draft somebody like Drew Allar, one could easily see a locker room rallying around him, too.
Now, there is no scenario, I think, in which the Steelers release Mason Rudolph this offseason. Even if Aaron Rodgers signs and they draft a mid-round quarterback, he would last through the offseason. He likely wouldn’t make the final roster, but he would be there. At least, he would be, provided that nobody wants to trade for him. And at this point in his career, that doesn’t seem very likely.
Also, the fact that Mike McCarthy raves about Will Howard but barely acknowledges Rudolph doesn’t help, either. But if the Steelers don’t draft a quarterback, he would almost undoubtedly be safe. And he may even keep the backup job ahead of Howard. But like Landry Jones before him, he could be the odd, older man out in a room full of youngsters. And Rodgers.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
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