The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly "firmly believe that" they will sign future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers sooner rather than later. As of the start of May, however, longtime backup Mason Rudolph would have to serve as the Steelers starting quarterback for a game played this spring.
During a Wednesday appearance on Columbus sports radio station 97.1 The Fan, Steelers reporter Brooke Pryor of ESPN touched upon how those inside the Pittsburgh locker room would feel if they had to go into battle with Rudolph instead of Rodgers atop the depth chart.
"I have been told from people in the building that not only does the coaching staff buy into him, but the guys in the locker room really like Mason Rudolph," Pryor explained, as shared by Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. "I think he earned a lot of credibility with this offense, the way that he finished out the 2023 season."
The 2023 Steelers were 7-7 when Rudolph guided the club to three straight victories and a playoff berth as Kenny Pickett recovered from an ankle injury. In the 31-17 wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills, Rudolph completed 22-of-39 pass attempts for 229 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
After that defeat, Pittsburgh let Rudolph reach free agency and replaced him with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. More recently, the Steelers elected against re-signing either Wilson or Fields before they brought Rudolph back via a two-year deal.
Rudolph went 1-4 across five starts with the Tennessee Titans this past season. In total, he connected on 64 percent of 228 passes for 1,530 yards with nine touchdowns and nine picks.
"Rudolph got to be the guy to come in there and salvage the season and get them to the playoffs," Pryor added about what the 29-year-old gave the 2023 Steelers. "I do think he has a lot of cache built up in the organization."
That's all well and good, but it's not even a secret that head coach Mike Tomlin and others within the Steelers want Rodgers to start over Rudolph and developmental prospect/2025 sixth-round draft pick Will Howard.
On the latest episode of "The Athletic Football Show," ESPN's Field Yates noted that "all the signs tell us that Aaron Rodgers, despite the peculiar path he’s taken to eventually land this deal in Pittsburgh, feels borderline all but done."
It sounds like Pittsburgh players wouldn't lose too much sleep if Rodgers experienced a change of heart regarding playing for the Steelers at some point this spring.
