Insider: Steelers Rejecting Trade Idea Despite Potential Calls

The Pittsburgh Steelers have quite a few pieces they could trade away. Many people believe that General Manager Omar Khan will be looking to trade one of his top edge rushers to give more playing time to Nick Herbig, but numerous reports have rejected that theory. They could also trade away a veteran defensive back like Jalen Ramsey, but Khan personally rejected anything like that due to his desire to always be loaded at that specific position throughout every season. 

There is another player that could easily be dealt away after preseason, but that does not seem to be happening. In his weekly Q&A chat, Gerry Dulac recently shot down yet another trade rumor that would make perfect sense for Pittsburgh, while presenting a different idea for what they would want to do.

"[The Steelers] might not trade [Mason] Rudolph," Dulac said. "They might give him opportunity to sign where he wants."

At this point, Mason Rudolph's spot on the 53-man roster is far from guaranteed. He will be spending the entire offseason and training camp competing with Will Howard for the right to wear a Black and Gold jersey throughout the season. Anything can change, but early signs indicate that the young gun has the edge in this battle due to getting QB2 reps, although Dulac also shot that idea down earlier in his chat. 

While Howard is inexperienced, there is this mindset that he should be able to win the battle due to the fact that he is young and has some upside. Meanwhile, Rudolph is a career backup, and the upside just isn't there anymore. His experience and ability to mentor the younger guys is seen as an asset, so there has been a little bit of speculation that he could be moved for a late-round pick to a team that needs a veteran backup. 

Dulac's idea is that if he loses the battle to Howard, the Steelers will just release Rudolph as a service to him and allow him to pick which team he plays for. The organization does have a lot of respect for him, so it would not be surprising to see them reject a deal because the veteran has no desire to play for that team. He could pick whatever situation is best for him and be in the best possible scenario for his career.

Steelers Could Make The Best Of Both Worlds Happen

Alternatively, the Steelers could consult with Rudolph and ask him which team(s) he would want to play for and then negotiate with them. That would likely result in them only getting a seventh-round pick back, but it's still better than releasing him and getting nothing in return or upsetting him by sending him to a team that he would rather not play for. This is not an uncommon practice in the NFL, and Pittsburgh has benefited from this before. 

In 2024, the Steelers acquired Justin Fields in a trade with the Chicago Bears for a conditional sixth-round pick that could have been upgraded to a fourth, but that never happened. It later came out that the Bears had better trade offers for him on the table, but the quarterback had requested that he play for Pittsburgh. They accepted his request and took a somewhat lesser offer to make him happy, although the exact trade offers from other teams have not been revealed.