Buccaneers, Commanders Named Potential Trade Suitors for Steelers' Mason Rudolph

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders were named potential trade suitors for Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mason Rudolph by NFL analyst Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report. 

Knox believes the Steelers can get a conditional 2027 sixth-round pick for Rudolph.

The Buccaneers and Commanders are dealing with starting QB injuries, as Baker Mayfield is out with a thumb injury and Jayden Daniels has an elbow injury. 

Pittsburgh has four QBs right now: Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, Drew Allar and Rudolph. There's no point in having four QBs, so the Steelers should part ways with Rudolph to free up cap space.

Rudolph has one year left on his contract. He has a base salary of $3 million for this season. The Steelers should get out of his contract as soon as possible. 

Rudolph is a below-average QB. He serves no purpose on the Steelers roster. The 30-year-old has 4,925 career passing yards, 30 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions. He's played for the Steelers [twice] and Tennessee Titans. 

There might be a team desperate for a No. 2 QB. The Steelers have to find that team and offer them Rudolph, who won't play in Pittsburgh in 2026.

If Pittsburgh can't trade Rudolph, cutting him would be the next logical move.

Should Rodgers get hurt this season, Allar and Howard are ahead of Rudolph on the depth chart. 

The Steelers are 2-2. They beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, lost to the New England Patriots in Week 2, beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 and lost to the Cleveland Browns in Week 4. 

Not only did the Steelers lose to the Browns on Thursday Night Football, but Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy also yelled at each other.

The incident took place when the game was still scoreless in the first quarter, as Rodgers yelled toward the sideline while apparently waiting for a play call on 1st and 10.

The future Hall of Famer yelled at McCarthy because he couldn't hear the play. 

"It was loud," Rodgers said. "So some of the calls, it was hard to hear, for sure."

McCarthy said he regrets his heated exchange with Rodgers.

Cameras caught McCarthy cursing at Rodgers. 

"What's said on the field, the way I grew up in this game, usually stays on the field. That's not the case today. I understand that," McCarthy said after the game. "Any negative communication on my part, I wish I wouldn't use those words."

The Steelers lost to the Browns by a final score of 27-24. Rodgers threw three touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked five times. 

The 42-year-old Rodgers finished with 299 passing yards. He went 22/40 through the air. Pittsburgh had 361 yards on offense but gave up 372 yards. 

Rodgers and McCarthy had a falling out near the end of their run together with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, though, called it a "full-circle" moment to play for McCarthy again when McCarthy was hired by the Steelers. 

McCarthy and Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV against the Steelers as members of the Packers. 

One of the best players in NFL history, Rodgers will retire from the NFL after this season. Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in his final NFL season. Can Rodgers do the same this season with the Steelers? Probably not, as the Steelers have many flaws. 

Rodgers had 3,322 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. Many people thought Rodgers would play well again this season since he knows McCarthy's system well.

Thus far, Rodgers has been average. He has seven passing touchdowns, four interceptions and 999 passing yards through four games. He's completing only 57.5% of his passes. 

The Steelers face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. Pittsburgh's offensive line needs to protect Rodgers better moving forward. Otherwise, the NFL legend could get injured soon. The oldest active QB in the NFL can't keep getting sacked like this.

Coming into Thursday night's game, Rodgers had been sacked eight times through the first three contests. The five sacks given up by the Steelers' offensive line are a big reason why they're headed back to Pittsburgh with a 2-2 record.