Veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph isn’t necessarily a signal-caller that a team should love having in the starting lineup. But over the past couple seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers have appeared to love possessing Rudolph as a backup.
This week, though, Sports Illustrated’s Gilbert Manzao argued the Steelers shouldn’t even like Rudolph as their backup signal-caller.
On Thursday, Manzano ranked the NFL’s 32 backup quarterbacks of 2026. Rudolph came in nearly at the very bottom of the list at No. 27 overall.
“Rudolph is back for his eighth season with the Steelers. (He spent 2024 with Tennessee before returning to Pittsburgh last year.) But it’s not a certainty that Rudolph will be Aaron Rodgers’s backup come Week 1 against the Falcons. The Steelers also have second-year quarterback Will Howard and rookie third-rounder Drew Allar,” wrote Manzano.
Although Manzano cast some uncertainty on whether Rudolph should be Pittsburgh’s backup, he predicted Rudolph will have the job this fall.
“While I believe it’s time for the Steelers to see what they have in their younger quarterbacks, that likely won’t be the case with Rodgers back for his age-43 season. Pittsburgh will likely hand the QB2 job to Rudolph instead of making this a true competition. This team continues to favor the present rather than the future, even with new coach Mike McCarthy. Rudolph has 19 career starts with a 9-9-1 record.”
On Manzano’s list, Rudolph was only in front of New England Patriots’ Tommy DeVito, Buffalo Bills’ Kyle Allen, Dallas Cowboys’ Joe Milton III, Miami Dolphins’ Quinn Ewers and New York Jets‘ Cade Klubnik.
Steelers’ Mason Rudolph Disrespected on List of Backup QBs?
Manzano’s argument about Rudolph not deserving a roster spot in Pittsburgh could be well warranted depending on how the preseason unfolds. If Will Howard outperforms Rudolph, then the former should be on the Steelers roster instead because of his long-term upside potential.
But that doesn’t mean Rudolph is one of the worst backups in the league. Honestly, it’s quite puzzling how he landed behind both Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky on Sports Illustrated’s backup quarterbacks list.
Steelers Depot’s Josh Carney explained why.
“Rudolph’s experience makes him a viable backup quarterback option,” wrote Carney. “Though things didn’t go well for him in 2025 coming on in relief for an injured Rodgers, he’s still a serviceable quarterback and is drawing some rave reviews from Mike McCarthy this offseason …
“Manzano even has Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky ranked ahead of Rudolph, which is ridiculous considering Rudolph took their jobs in 2023 and led the Steelers to the playoffs.”
They weren’t ahead of Rudolph by a lot. But Trubisky came in at No. 22 on the list while Pickett sat at No. 24 overall.
Will Rudolph Be Steelers QB2 in 2026?
The argument against Rudolph as one of the better backups in the league was the part of Carney’s argument where he played devil’s advocate.
Rudolph didn’t play well in his lone start during 2025. He was also just 1-4 as a starter with the Tennessee Titans during 2024.
That makes him 1-5 over the past two seasons. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in those contests.
That might be enough to drop him on a lot of backup lists.
But in 2023, he went 3-0 as a starter with exceptional numbers during the stretch run to lead the Steelers to the postseason.
Like pretty much every backup quarterback in the league, Rudolph is inconsistent. That’s why he’s not a starter. At his best, he’s a guy who can lead an offense to victory. But he also routinely makes mistakes.
The question this summer is will be still be Pittsburgh’s backup for the 2026 season with both Howard and Drew Allar also on the roster.
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