Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph addresses the elephant in the room regarding his relationship with Aaron Rodgers

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated May 20, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Mason Rudolph finds himself in an all-too-familiar situation.

For now, he's projected to be the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But with one swipe of Aaron Rodgers' pen, that all changes.

So when asked about the dynamic between Rodgers and himself, he shared the history between the two of them...

Mason Rudolph recalls friendly interaction with Aaron Rodgers

“I had a rough, early outing, and he came over and said hello and offered some words of encouragement and motivated me to keep working hard,” Rudolph told the Kaboly and Mack podcast regarding a preseason game in 2018. “It doesn’t happen a lot. He went out of his way to say hello to me, and that was awesome.”

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Now, while it's obvious, the relationship between two quarterbacks when they are on two different teams vs. in a competition to see who the starter will be is likely going to be different.

But Mason Rudolph knows that and he's preparing accordingly...

"I learned a long time ago that the financial compensation will tell you what’s going to go down in terms of the depth chart," added Rudolph. "I get it. All I can do is keep having a good spring … and make the most of every rep. That’s what I’ve done my whole career. I am confident that I will be able to play well and win games when my name is called...

"...I assumed they were going to sign people and add to the roster because they always go to training camp with four quarterbacks. I knew that going in. I am going to respect the privacy of what (general manager) Omar (Khan) told me specifically. That’s for him to decide when, or whatever, they add a fourth.”

At the end of the day, Rudolph is a competitor, he has history with the Steelers, and while many assume that Rodgers will not only sign but also start, Rudolph isn't going to go down the depth chart willingly.

When OTAs start next week, barring a last-second signing from Rodgers, it will be him who leads the team.

So we'll see where things go from here, but for now Rudolph is the starter.