Mason Rudolph may have become a key trade asset for the Steelers after an AFC foe suffers serious injury in their QB room
A win-win?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a little more than 24 hours by publish time to trim their roster to 53 players.
Part of that critical decision will include what happens with the four quarterbacks on the roster.
There is a world where all four stay, but if the Steelers feel like fetching more draft capital ahead of April, there might be an opening there as well.
Las Vegas Raiders could be interested in a Mason Rudolph trade
Aidan O’Connell, the Las Vegas Raiders backup quarterback behind Geno Smith, is set to be out for six to eight weeks with a fractured wrist, which he sustained against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. Now, the Raiders have an issue: who is their backup QB in 2025? – Justin Churchill, A to Z Sports Las Vegas
The Steelers have a quarterback problem that a lot of teams wish they had. They have three backups that they like, but Pittsburgh is far from likely to carry four signal callers outside of placing Will Howard on injured reserve.
So teams could come calling for either Skylar Thompson or Mason Rudolph. The Raiders are one of those teams, seeing as O’Connell is expected to miss a significant amount of time. Insert Rudolph. According to Justin, Rudolph is the Raiders’ preferred choice. I think the Steelers would be better off trading Rudolph than Thompson anyway.
Thompson has the higher ceiling for what the Steelers want to do, and he’s been much better this preseason. But from the Raiders’ standpoint, trading for a proven veteran at the position makes more sense.
Rudolph was the catalyst behind the Steelers’ 2023 run to the playoffs and was the best QB on the Tennessee Titans last year. It could be a win-win for both sides if the compensation works out.
In my opinion, this would be the best case scenario for the Steelers. You can curtail any headaches before they arise by receiving draft capital for Rudolph, keeping your significant backup with playoff experience in Thompson, and then the rookie who will assume the QB No.2 role if not higher come 2026 in Will Howard.
To me, it’s a no-brainer. The only other option is to keep all four quarterbacks on the roster by placing Howard on the injured reserve and going with Rudolph and Thompson as the backups. But having to decide whether to cut Thompson or Rudolph is a decision that the Steelers shouldn’t have to make.
It’s just making life harder on themselves.
Pittsburgh Steelers News
Steelers quarterback Skylar Thompson reveals the switch he had to flip to try and make the final 53-man roster in Pittsburgh
A major change.
