Ben Roethlisberger appears to take a new subtle shot at Mason Rudolph

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offseason saw a lot of new faces come into the picture ahead of the 2026 season, including a brand new coaching staff. They will be led by new head coach Mike McCarthy, the first one in 19 years in the Steel City. It was recently made official that his former signal-caller Aaron Rodgers would be reuniting with him in Pittsburgh for the first time since they were together with the Green Bay Packers. Shortly after the decision, Rodgers made it public that this will be his last year. This organization will soon be looking for a franchise quarterback for 2027 and beyond.

In fact, the Steelers have not had their franchise guy at the position since Ben Roethlisberger. For a long time, there was speculation that Roethlisberger did not ever want to take someone under his wing and mentor them to be the next man up. 

During his most recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former legendary signal-caller addressed that narrative of him from his playing days.

"I know there was maybe one quarterback on the team ever that was like, 'Ben was never good to me,'" Roethlisberger said. "I will be here for you. I will watch film with you, I will do whatever you want. And I think there's been a lot of guys that have played with me that will co-sign that."

It was believed for a while that Mason Rudolph would be the next man up after Roethlisberger when the organization selected him 76th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft from Oklahoma State. However, he parted ways with the franchise following the 2023 season, playing one year with the Tennessee Titans. Some of the reasoning for Rudolph's departure may have also been due to the team taking University of Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

However, even with Pickett playing at the hometown college, the team traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in March of 2024. Pickett has since bounced around the league, as he was later traded to the divisional foe Cleveland Browns, who then traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders. He never saw any in-game action for Cleveland, as the trade happened in August of 2025. Now Pickett is with the Carolina Panthers.

For Rudolph, he returned to Pittsburgh last season and served in the primary backup role behind Rodgers. Now in 2026, he's fighting for that same role.

Steelers Must Find An Answer At Quarterback Soon

While Roethlisberger's comments never fully painted the picture of who he was referring to, he was confident that most of his past teammates could back him in terms of being a true leader. He and Rudolph's relationship has been well documented over the years, and many believe that's exactly who Roethlisberger is speaking about. 

Following the selection of Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the team also selected Drew Allar in this year's draft with the 76th selection in the third round. McCarthy is believed to have faith in both quarterbacks in general, but has given Howard some high praise in what he has seen out of the second-year Ohio State University product. Both young signal-callers will now get the chance to sit behind a four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl winner in Rodgers for the 2026 NFL season and learn under him. That should set the stage for a quarterback battle ahead of the 2027 season if the franchise is as high on their potential as they mention they are.