Steelers reportedly set to keep Mason Rudolph with Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett

The order of the quarterbacks on the depth chart of the Pittsburgh Steelers has probably changed since the beginning of August, but it appears the top names will remain attached to the organization through at least the Week 1 game at the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals next month. 

It was reported Monday that the Steelers have "been reluctant" to trade backup signal-caller Mason Rudolph even though free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky has presumably won the starting job and should have rookie Kenny Pickett serving as his QB2 after Pickett impressed throughout the preseason. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explained that a "team source" said that "the Steelers expect to keep Rudolph as one of the three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster and not trade him." Dulac added more information about that decision. 

"It is likely the Steelers do not want a repeat of what happened in 2019 when they traded No. 3 quarterback Josh Dobbs at the end of training camp and saw Ben Roethlisberger sustain a season-ending injury in Week 2 of the regular season," Dulac wrote. "That forced them to rely on Rudolph, who had never taken a snap in an NFL game at that point; and Devlin 'Duck' Hodges, an undrafted rookie who made the team through a tryout."

During a recent appearance on the "All Things Covered" podcast, Steelers general manager Omar Khan suggested he wanted an experienced backup quarterback on the active roster along with Pickett in case Trubisky suffers an injury early this fall before head coach Mike Tomlin deems the first-year pro ready to play against live defenses. 

Thus, it appears Rudolph still has a legitimate chance of being Pittsburgh's primary backup in Cincinnati on Sept. 11. The 27-year-old completed 26-of-39 passes for 220 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions across his three preseason appearances.