The Pittsburgh Steelers may be in for a rude awakening if Mason Rudolph loses the backup job, as his trade value likely isn’t as high as some have speculated. Even as a steady backup, Rudolph may not bring Pittsburgh much of a return.
Pittsburgh has quite the backup quarterback battle brewing. While we know the starter will be Aaron Rodgers, everything behind that is a question mark. Third-round pick Drew Allar is the next clearest option. Given his draft status, he will make the team. The expectation is that he will be the third quarterback, although he has flashed some good traits this summer. I’m doubtful it's enough to move him up to top backup status, but it is at least worth mentioning.
That leaves Will Howard and Rudolph battling for the backup spot. It feels like a two-dog-one-bone scenario. For a minute, it felt like Howard’s job to lose. That is no longer the case with Rudolph taking backup reps to start camp. Howard looked good at times, but this battle needs to be sorted out. If Howard does come out on top, Rudolph should have some value to other teams as a steady backup. However, it may not be for as much as people have speculated.
Pittsburgh Steelers may have to sell Mason Rudolph on the cheap
I’ve seen speculation that, if traded, Rudolph could go for as high as a fifth-round pick. That seems far-fetched. While Rudolph is a fine backup, he is no longer viewed as anything other than just a backup. At his age, the only value he brings to the team is as a reserve who can step in for a few games if needed.
Recent trades haven’t been kind to just backups. The going rate seems to be a seventh-round pick for your average backup. If not that, a late-round pick swap could also suffice. See the numerous Sam Howell trades as well as the Andy Dalton deal this offseason.
Now, there are ways to elevate value. Your younger rebound candidates can go for more, but that doesn’t apply to Rudolph at this point. Instead, necessity could drive value up. If a team loses their backup right before the season, Rudolph could be brought in as insurance.
Better yet would be if a team loses its starting quarterback for a short period of time. We saw the Bengals pay extra for Joe Flacco last year to provide some short-term stability while Joe Burrow healed up.
If another team lost their quarterback for, let's say, the first four or five games, Rudolph could come in and win half of those games until the starter is ready to return. This keeps the other team in contention while their starter heals up.
Given how light teams utilize their starters in the preseason, this doesn’t seem likely. Instead, it feels like if Rudolph does get traded, it will be for pennies on the dollar. Unless the Steelers keep all four quarterbacks. I certainly see the possibility there. However, I still don’t think that is the most likely option.
If Rudolph loses the backup quarterback battle, there should be suitors. However, I wouldn’t expect him to be worth much to another team given the other recent trades for backup quarterbacks.
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