After witnessing impressive performances from Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar in the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 preseason contest against the Green Bay Packers, head coach Mike McCarthy has a difficult decision on the horizon. With Aaron Rodgers, that makes four—and four QBs on an NFL roster is not something we see often.
McCarthy holds Rudolph in high esteem, and the Steelers HC alluded to seeing everything he needed to see from the veteran quarterback, as neither Rodgers nor Rudolph will take the field on Friday night against the New York Jets. This presents a great opportunity for Howard to start.
But it just so happens that the Jets could be the team poking around to check on Rudolph's availability.
The latest trade buzz from Jake Asman of ESPN suggests that the Jets are eying a backup quarterback, and Rudolph is a name in the mix.
“The Jets could be in the market for a veteran QB… Mason Rudolph’s name has come up," Asman said, via 93.7 The Fan's Donny Chedrick.
This shouldn't come as a major surprise. Rududolph is considered a quality backup, and NFL teams are well aware of the Steelers' current QB dilemma. As Pittsburgh sits four-deep at the position, general manager Omar Khan has to make a decision on whether to engage in trade talks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could fix their 2026 quarterback outlook by trading Mason Rudolph to the New York Jets
Based on his comments, there's no question that McCarthy is a fan of Rudolph. He had this to say about the veteran on Tuesday, via 93.7 The Fan:
"Mason has great command of the offense; pure on-the-field game day. He's very experienced; he's strong. Personality, in the locker room, I really like his command... He's been through a number of systems. He's been asked to do things differently for how we believe the quarterback position is played. He's done an excellent job."
But what if the reason McCarthy decided not to play him in preseason Week 2 against the Jets isn't that he has all the confidence in the world in Rudolph, but rather that he doesn't want Rudolph to get hurt before a potential trade?
We can't say for certain what the motives are of McCarthy and his staff ahead of the team's preseason game. Logically, it makes sense to play only Will Howard and Drew Allar after their strong debuts against the Packers last week. After all, these two young QBs could use all the reps they can get in exhibition action.
At the same time, trading away one of their quarterbacks always made the most sense. It's hard to justify rostering four QBs, and we've speculated all along that either Rudolph or Howard could be traded before the start of the season.
For the Jets, this makes perfect sense. Head coach Aaron Glenn is trying to save his job. If Geno Smith gets hurt—or perhaps even if he performs poorly for a stretch—Glenn could insert a vet like Rudolph who has played through adversity throughout his career. This would be a much better option than banking on rookie fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik to save his job.
The best part is that this would solve the Steelers' QB dilemma they've had since Rodgers signed. It's hard to justify keeping four, but none of their signal-callers would circle back to the practice squad if released.
By trading Rudolph to the Jets, the Steelers would keep Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, and Drew Allar as their three QBs while putting a draft pick in their pocket for the 2027 NFL Draft. This might be the preferred combination anyway, as Rodgers can help them win now, while Howard and Allar could battle it out (perhaps with a draft pick added to the mix) for the starting role next year.
Trading Rudolph is hardly a wild idea, and we'll soon find out if anything materializes from this quarterback trade buzz.
Add us as a preferred source on Google