Steelers OC Gives Update on Mason Rudolph Amid Troubling News for Veteran

The Pittsburgh Steelers are carrying four quarterbacks into OTAs this spring after Aaron Rodgers signed on Saturday.

The Steelers have Rodgers for at least this year, but the team needs to sort out the position for the four-time MVP's future retirement. The Steelers drafted Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 draft and took Drew Allar out of Penn State in the third round of April's draft. 

New head coach Mike McCarthy is rebuilding Allar this spring. He appears to have found something of interest in Howard. Rudolph, a former third-round pick by the Steelers in 2018, will be fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster this fall.

When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Steelers offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio provided an update on the team's plans for Rudolph. Pittsburgh plans to "develop" the veteran.

"Yeah, I think with Mason, just like all of them, Mason, he's awesome," Angelichio said, via video posted on X from Mark Kaboly. 

"He's played a lot of football, he's a veteran, he brings a lot of experience, he brings a lot of wisdom, great conversations, his insight into the concept, so we’re going to continue to develop them all."

It was the kind of pat answer one would expect from an offensive coordinator with Rudolph still on the roster. His words don't change the fact that Pittsburgh isn't expected to carry four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. 

The Steelers aren't going to cut Allar after spending a Day 2 pick on him this spring. It appears McCarthy likes what he has seen from Howard, who was taking reps with the second team over Rudolph, who took reps with the third team on Monday, which was bad news for the 30-year-old's prospects this offseason.

Rudolph helped lead the Steelers to the playoffs in 2023, going 3-0 in the regular season before losing to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. He's gone 1-5 in his previous six starts with the Steelers and Tennessee Titans.

Does he have experience? Yes. 

Should McCarthy try to develop Howard and Allar into a better backup than Rudolph? Yes. 

The Steelers can't just give Rudolph the QB2 job because of his prior history in the league. He's going to have to earn a spot on the roster, which he's more than capable of doing.