Mike McCarthy may decide to keep four quarterbacks on the main roster at the open of the regular season. He may not. But if he does bring four with him into Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, he has no time for any criticism sent in his direction.
With the Steelers‘ quarterback depth chart decision looming over McCarthy, and all of Pittsburgh for that matter, he once again defended his thought process in possibly going into a season with four quarterbacks.
“If you have four quarterbacks in that room, especially the quality we have right now, I think it only enhances what the regular season would look like. … I’d have six quarterbacks in the building if it worked,” said McCarthy to reporters, including Alan Saunders of Steelers Now, when asked about his quarterback room on Tuesday ahead of his team’s final preseason game in Buffalo against the Bills.
McCarthy’s Decision Comes Down to How Risky He Wants to Be
McCarthy’s decision comes down to how much of a risk he would view having two young quarterbacks as his only option behind a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers. If he vies that as too risky, he then can’t afford to cut veteran Mason Rudolph loose.
And then if Rudolph must be on the team, McCarthy has to either pick between Drew Allar, the Steelers’ third-round pick from April’s NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, or Will Howard, a 2025 sixth-round pick selection made by McCarthy’s predecessor Mike Tomlin, or go into the season with all four.
McCarthy’s Mindset About His QB Room is Becoming Clear
But reading into what McCarthy has said throughout training camp, his mentality seems clear: any choice that leads to Rudolph not being on the Steelers come Week 1 would be the riskiest play of them all. It would leave him with only two inexperienced options behind 42-year-old Aaron Rodges.
So even though Rudolph may be a career backup, that may also be what the Steelers need if they have to look beyond Rodgers at any point. Rudolph has shown he can win games if called upon – he’s 9-9-1 in his career and saved the 2023 season by going 3-0 to lead Pittsburgh to the playoffs.
Aaron Rodgers Needs to Stay Healthy for the Steelers to Contend
In all reality, Rodgers, who did complete 65.7% of his passes and throw for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns to only seven interceptions in 2025, needs to stay healthy for the Steelers to reach their goal of making the playoffs. If he misses significant time, it will likely derail any shot the Steelers have to contend in the AFC North. However, turning to a quarterback who has been through the fire in the past provides McCarthy more comfort and security than having to rely upon a young recent draft pick who has yet to take a regular season snap in the NFL.
Mike McCarthy Defends the Steelers Possibly Keeping 4 QBs on Roster