Steelers Upside Isn't There With Mason Rudolph

If a doomsday scenario of sorts presents itself and the Pittsburgh Steelers are forced to roll with Mason Rudolph as their starting quarterback next season, their ceiling would drop drastically.

That's not meant as a knock on Rudolph, who's proven himself to be an NFL-caliber player under center, but it's also just the reality of the situation.

To clarify, the Steelers are a long ways away from actually having to entrust the 29-year-old with running the offense. Aaron Rodgers remains very much in play even as some around the game believe he may ultimately retire or continue to drag out his free agency, and a prospect such as Colorado's Shedeur Sanders could find his way to Pittsburgh via the first round of the NFL Draft.

Rudolph protects the organization against those plans going haywire, however, and that's exactly why they made it a priority to bring him back on a two-year, $7.5 million deal during the first week of free agency.

He's become a fan favorite over the last handful of years, which largely stems from his 3-0 run as the Steelers' starter at the end of 2023 that helped them reach the playoffs, but replicating that magic is easier said than done.

Rudolph received plenty of opportunities with the Tennessee Titans last season while Will Levis struggled, and while it's important to note that the team was nothing short of a dumpster fire, his touchdown total still matched his interceptions at nine while finishing with a pass EPA of -6.6 per SumerSports, ranking among the back-half of all signal callers in the league.

Though there's certainly worse bridge options out there than him, Rudolph simply doesn't inspire a ton of confidence. Pittsburgh, by all accounts, is looking to contend for the postseason in 2025, and having a pure pocket passer who's appeared in just 14 games with mixed results since the 2021 campaign take a majority of the snaps won't help them achieve that goal.