The Pittsburgh Steelers sit atop the AFC North entering their Week 9 bye, and the team we initially thought might be the most threatening for the divisional crown is now down to their rookie third-string quarterback for the foreseeable future—and maybe the rest of the season.
The Baltimore Ravens have lost three straight games as they begin to spiral. Over their previous two contests alone, they've been outscored 71-23. Meanwhile, two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson is out indefinitely with a thumb injury, while ESPN's Adam Schefter recently announced that Tyler Huntley is out for the year with a severe turf toe injury.
The Steelers aren't in the business of aiding an AFC North rival. But in a strange way, trading QB Mason Rudolph to Baltimore could actually benefit Mike McCarthy's team in more ways than one.
The Baltimore Ravens would not be threatening with Mason Rudolph
We know who Rudolph is at this stage of his career—a stop-gap starter capable of stepping in when his number is called. But he's nothing more than a very low option if asked to start for an extended period of time.
As the Ravens reach desperation mode with only an undrafted rookie quarterback to turn to in Fagnano outside of reserve QB Kedon Slovis, Baltimore could overpay for Rudolph's experience, considering the state of their team.
By doing so, the Steelers could potentially prevent a more threatening move by the Ravens.
A Steelers' Mason Rudolph trade could prevent the Ravens from making a bigger QB move
Schefter has already floated the Ravens as a candidate to trade for quarterback Daniel Jones, and some buzz suggests they could land Kirk Cousins before the deadline. Jones has been awful this season, but we saw what he did in the first half of 2025 before the Achilles injury, and a new setting might spark new life.
Cousins, meanwhile, is on pace for 40 touchdowns, 10 touchdowns, and over 4,500 passing yards if you prorate his stats over a 17-game season.
So who would you rather see leading the Ravens offense? Rudolph or Cousins.
With a new innovative offensive coordinator in Declan Doyle and an aggressive young head coach in Jesse Minter, Cousins may be able to do enough to keep the Ravens afloat if Jackson is able to make it back late in the season or in the playoffs.
With Rudolph, there's just no chance that the Ravens are going to be able to stay competitive in a crowded AFC playoff race.
We also should mention that the Steelers have a pair of head-to-head matchups against the Ravens late in the season, and there's virtually no shot that Joe Fagnano is still going to be the quarterback by then. It would be much better for Pittsburgh to go up against a familiar player like Rudolph than to potentially face Cousins late in the year, if the Ravens were to opt to trade with the Raiders instead.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could force Baltimore to overpay for Rudolph
It's crunch time. As we sit here just days away from the NFL trade deadline, desperate times call for desperate measures for teams looking to keep their season afloat. Before the start of the season, Rudolph may have been worth a sixth-round pick or a Day 3 pick swap to a team.
But now, the Ravens could perhaps surrender as much as a fourth-round pick for his services. While this is hardly elite draft capital, the Steelers could opt to get something now while preventing the Ravens from making a more aggressive move.
And let's be honest, as rough as Rodgers has been at times, the Steelers don't have a shot at going anywhere in the playoffs if Rudolph is forced to be the quarterback they turn to in the postseason.
Mason Rudolph could do just enough to hurt the Ravens' 2027 draft positioning
Without their top two quarterbacks, one of the best things the Baltimore Ravens can do this year is bottom out. With no hope of staying remotely competitive in 2026 with a bad defense and a third-string quarterback for the rest of the way, it would be better for them to lose out and earn high draft positioning in each round rather than scrounge together meaningless wins.
Playing Fagnano or Slovis would help them bottom out and potentially land a future NFL star next April. But playing Rudolph could help the Ravens do just enough to hurt their draft positioning.
Rudolph is hardly threatening, but he's competent enough to give Baltimore a shot with some upcoming opponents like the Los Angeles Chargers, the Carolina Panthers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This could be the difference between the Ravens picking in the top five or the top fifteen of each round in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Mason Rudolph could help the Ravens steal a late-season win against the Browns or Bengals
If the Steelers trade Rudolph, it won't be to be a mole—working to sabotage an AFC North rival from within. This may be his final shot as a starter, and he's going to fight tooth and nail to win football games—even to get revenge on the Steelers late in the season.
But this could also work out in their favor.
Baltimore still has upcoming matchups against the Browns and Bengals—two divisional teams much more threatening to the Steelers right now than the Ravens. And if Rudolph can help steal even one win against the AFC North opponents, that could benefit the Steelers in their race for a divisional crown.
And I'll just come out and say it: if Rudolph prevents the Steelers from making the playoffs, then McCarthy's team has no business entering the postseason, to begin with.
In-divisional QB trades are rare, but not impossible.
Last season, a few weeks before the 2025 NFL trade deadline, we saw veteran Joe Flacco get traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Cincinnati Bengals, and he went on to lead his team to an upset against the Steelers two weeks after being traded.
Let me be clear: there's almost no chance that Omar Khan and the Pittsburgh Steelers would be willing to trade their backup quarterback within the division to Baltimore. However, if a Rudolph trade prevents a bigger QB move for the Ravens, could help Baltimore steal wins against the Browns and Bengals, and put a little draft capital in the Steelers' pocket, this has to be considered.
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