Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph has again been mentioned as a potential trade candidate.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking to move to 2-0 in the new season this weekend when they travel to face the New England Patriots.
Pittsburgh was able to take down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, earning them a big victory to open the year. In the game, quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked decent, throwing for 221 yards and one touchdown.
Rodgers, 42, is in the final year of his legendary NFL career, and this has left questions about what comes next for the Steelers. Pittsburgh does have a few young quarterbacks on the roster, while also having veteran Mason Rudolph as the backup.
Rudolph has been with the Steelers since they drafted him in 2019. The veteran has never played in more than 10 games in a season, but he's looked good in limited time.
Last season, Rudolph appeared in five games for the Steelers, incouding making one start. In this time, the signal-caller threw for 310 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Now, the veteran is generating some trade buzz entering Week 2 of the NFL season. Analyst Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report listed Rudolph as a possible trade candidate heading into the week.
Rudolph could net the Steelers some future draft assets, which may be crucial to this franchise following the retirement of Rodgers. Pittsburgh could also elect to move forward with Rudolph as the starter, but he's mainly been a backup over his NFL career.
Before the NFL season started, there were rumors around Rudolph, with the veteran drawing trade interest. NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that multiple teams were looking to potentially go after the Steelers' backup.
"NFL executives have stated that the Steelers are very open to trading veteran Mason Rudolph. However, the one thing stopping this is not Pittsburgh's willingness to sell, it's the number of quarterbacks potentially available across the league, which could make finding a deal more difficult." La Canfora said.
Due to a large number of players available, it may have watered down the field for someone like Rudolph. But the Steelers could always look to move him again before all is said and done.
The Steelers are hoping that Rudolph won't be playing much this year, unless the team chooses to sit Rodgers for rest, or the backup comes in for garbage time minutes. But getting him some playing time could also increase his trade value, especially if Rudolph were to perform at a high level.
