Seven years and 30 regular-season games later, Mason Rudolph still finds himself in the same spot where he started, backup. For a broader context, Rudolph has served as a backup to 6 different starting quarterbacks across his NFL career. Now, he finds himself in an even tougher spot ahead of the 2026 regular season with Aaron Rodgers‘ return shifting the dynamics in the quarterback room.

“That’s kind of been communicated,” said Rudolph in a recent media scrum, when asked if he is expecting fewer reps because they (the Steelers) want to see the young guys. “The two young quarterbacks. That was the case when I got in. So, that’s a normal mode of operation.”

Aaron Rodgers’ decision to sign a one-year contract extension worth up to $25 million with the Steelers for the 2026 season has cleared the air around the franchise’s QB room. As expected, the 42-year-old will start with second-year quarterback Will Howard as the backup, while Allar sits on the sidelines and observes. The plan pushes Mason Rudolph as the franchise’s designated third-string quarterback. It’s a role the signal caller has played ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2018.

Drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Mason Rudolph didn’t play a single snap in his rookie year, then served as a backup to franchise legend and former QB Ben Roethlisberger in his second year. Rudolph played 10 games in 2019, managing a 5-3 record as a starter, and posted 1,765 passing yards. Then, over the next two seasons, Rudolph primarily served as the backup and played seven regular-season games (five in 2021 and two in 2022), making two starts.

Then came the 2022 season when Roethlisberger retired, and Rudolph was deemed a potential starter by then-general manager Kevin Colbert.

“I can’t tell you how at this point,” said Colbert ahead of the 2022 regular season. “We will go to camp with four. If we had to start today with Mason as our starter, let’s go. We’ll try to build the best team around him.”

Instead, then-head coach Mike Tomlin placed Mason Rudolph as the third-string QB, and he eventually failed to play even a single snap that season. Rudolph was once again the odd one out in the quarterback room, much like today. But even then, he stood with the team’s decision. In the 2023 season, Rudolph delivered one of his standout seasons, posting a 3-0 record in three starts when he stepped in for an injured Kenny Pickett and struggling Mitch Trubisky.

In his seven-year-long tenure with the Steelers, Rudolph has only received playing opportunities whenever the franchise quarterbacks missed out due to injuries.

A year later, the signal-caller moved away from Pittsburgh and joined the Tennessee Titans for the 2024 season. Yet again, the inconsistency followed him as he started only five games. For the 2025 season, Rudolph returned to the Steelers as a backup for Aaron Rodgers and started only one game following Rodgers’ wrist injury against the Chicago Bears in the Week 12 matchup, and appeared in a total of five regular-season games.

While considering the experience, Mason Rudolph stands way above Will Howard and Drew Allar, and yet he is getting fewer snaps than the young QBs because Mike McCarthy wants to develop the two. Although the Steelers picked Howard in the 2025 NFL Draft, he has yet to make his debut. Meanwhile, Allar was picked in the third round of the 2026 Draft.

“Mason has a lot of experience,” admitted head coach Mike McCarthy while addressing Rudolph’s role in the OTAs. “We’re trying to accomplish a threshold with Aaron, and I’m trying to develop Will and Drew the best we can.”

However, this shouldn’t overlook the fact that Rudolph still has a chance to play ahead of Howard and Allar as the quarterback believes that he is capable of winning games for the Steelers.

Mason Rudolph is optimistic about his success in Pittsburgh

When given an opportunity, Rudolph has proven to be a reliable asset for the Steelers. Take the 2023 season, for example. Rudolph led the Steelers to wins against the Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks, and Baltimore Ravens, successfully pushing Pittsburgh into the playoffs. As he heads into the 2026 season, the 30-year-old QB will be banking on that aspect, while setting the record straight about his role as a backup.

“This is a veteran team,” Rudolph said. “We’re trying to win now. You don’t bring back Aaron Rodgers if you don’t want to win now.”

Translation: Mike McCarthy might be interested in developing Howard and Allar, but not at the expense of his first head coaching gig since his firing from the Dallas Cowboys following a 7-10 finish in 2024. Once the preseason is over, Drew Allar will likely not be a part of the active roster, giving Rudolph significant time to prove his value.

“I think you just draw on your experience from all the different situations and combinations that I’ve been through in my career,” said Rudolph, as reported by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But I’ve won games here. I know I’m capable of winning games when my number has been called upon. That’s what I’ve done. Each year is a new journey, and you just look forward to pushing forward with the guys in this group and learning new names. But my outlook and approach has not changed. I’m going to take every rep and make the most of it.”

Now, the Steelers know better if they want to keep two quarterbacks with no experience in favor of the proven veteran. On one end, they have Mason Rudolph, a veteran who has benefitted the team in times of crisis, and on the other end, they have two young quarterbacks who are yet to play a single snap in the league.