Steelers QB Looks Great as Starter

PITTSBURGH - - The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to be planning on entering the coming season with a quarterback room that consists of Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and rookie quarterback Will Howard.

On paper, the room certainly looks like one of the weakest in the league, rivaled only by teams such as their divisional rival in the Cleveland Browns.

Now, reports are coming out of OTAs on who of the group seems to be taking the early lead for becoming the starter once the season begins this fall.

According to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the favorite for the coming season has been Mason Rudolph. Rudolph began his NFL career with the Steelers in 2018 after being selected with the team’s 3rd round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and spent his entire tenure from 2018 to 2023 as a backup and spot starter for the team.

In an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Fittipaldo spoke to the hosts about lead Rudolph hosts on the other options.

"Absolutely. He's out there, he's running this team, really no competition behind him, Skylar Thompson has a very limited resume and of course rookie Will Howard is the only other guy who's in camp right now. So it's easy for Mason to step into that role naturally," Fittipaldo said. "But he knows a lot of these guys on this football team, these guys have a lot of confidence in him. And yes, he looks good not only from a leadership standpoint, but he looks good spinning the ball out here too. I know it's football in shorts, none of this really matters until we get to training camp. Things will probably change by then, but he looks really solid right now."

Regardless of who does start, it seems highly likely this quarterback operates as a stopgap for the quarterback the Steelers select in the 2026 NFL Draft.