NFL insider reveals how close the Pittsburgh Steelers came to trading away one of their quarterbacks during training camp
The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to carry all four quarterbacks from their 90-man roster to their initial 53-man roster. But according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, there was a time when that may not have happened.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are carrying four quarterbacks into the 2026 season, and thanks to Adam Schefter, we now know it wasn’t for a lack of trying to trim that number down. Schefter appeared on the Pat McAfee Show and went team by team explaining why so many NFL rosters are holding onto four signal-callers. When he got to Pittsburgh, the conversation naturally turned to Mason Rudolph, and what Schefter revealed raises some legitimate questions about the Steelers’ roster strategy.
Mason Rudolph Facts
- Played college football at Oklahoma State.
- Was a 2018 third-round pick by the Steelers.
- Spent a season with the Tennessee Titans before returning to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh was listening to trade offers for Rudolph
Schefter said the Steelers didn’t find an offer they felt was good enough to move Rudolph. That’s the key detail here. It means Pittsburgh was at the very least fielding calls and entertaining the idea of trading their veteran backup quarterback. They weren’t simply holding onto him because they wanted four quarterbacks. They were actively gauging the market.
So the immediate question becomes: what were those offers? And why weren’t any of them good enough?
Why keeping 4 quarterbacks doesn’t make sense
The truth is, barring something catastrophic happening in that quarterback room, the Steelers are never going to play four quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers is the starter. Pittsburgh likes Will Howard and Drew Allar as developmental pieces. Everyone knows what Mason Rudolph is at this point.
By keeping all four, the Steelers gave up a roster spot that could have gone to someone like a Elandon Roberts or Travis Homer, or some additional depth along the offensive and defensive line. None of that depth exists now because they chose to carry a fourth quarterback they could have traded for draft capital.
Schefter went on to say the Steelers view Rudolph as a stable backup and that they know what they have in him. That’s all true. But Rudolph has been in the league for nearly a decade. We’ve seen him start for Pittsburgh. We know his ceiling.
The reality of Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation
If Rodgers goes down, the Steelers don’t have any real chance of winning anything of true significance, whether Rudolph, Allar, or Howard is the one stepping in under center. That’s not a knock on any of them individually. It’s just the reality of how large the gap is between Rodgers and the rest of that room.
Given the news that trade offers were on the table, I don’t understand why Pittsburgh didn’t move Rudolph for whatever draft capital was available. Even a late-round pick would have been preferable to burning a roster spot on a fourth quarterback who likely never sees the field.
This may not be over
Just because the Steelers kept four quarterbacks through initial roster cuts doesn’t mean they’ll stick with four all season. If a better trade offer materializes, or if another team loses a quarterback to injury, Pittsburgh could easily move Rudolph before the trade deadline. The market for veteran backup quarterbacks tends to heat up once the regular season gets rolling and teams start dealing with injuries at the position.
We’ll see how things pan out. But right now, the Steelers’ decision to hold onto Rudolph feels like a missed opportunity to add depth at a position of greater need.
