Steelers reportedly 'very open' to Mason Rudolph move amid Will Howard, Drew Allar questions

As had been expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers carried quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar on their initial 53-man roster past the final weekend of August.

During a Monday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter revealed that the Steelers "didn't get anything in offer-wise" that made it worth it for the AFC North club to trade Rudolph following the preseason. For a Casino.org article published on Tuesday, NFL insider Jason La Canfora suggested that the Steelers remain open for business ahead of their Week 1 home game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 13. 

Why Mason Rudolph is reportedly with Steelers at the beginning of September

"NFL executives have stated that the Steelers are very open to trading veteran Mason Rudolph," La Canfora revealed. "However, the one thing stopping this is not Pittsburgh’s willingness to sell; it’s the number of quarterbacks potentially available across the league, which could make finding a deal more difficult."

La Canfora's update could lead one to believe that first-year Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy is more confident that either Howard or Allar could win a game or two as a spot-starter than previously thought. As Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently mentioned, the Steelers "have gone all-in on" trying to win this season with the 42-year-old Rodgers atop their depth chart. Thus, it was believed McCarthy wouldn't want a signal-caller who has never attempted a regular-season pass to serve as the club's Week 1 QB2. 

A 2025 sixth-round draft pick, Howard basically completed a redshirt rookie season after he suffered a hand injury during his first NFL training camp. This past spring, Pittsburgh grabbed Allar as a developmental project in the draft's third round. 

Could the Steelers still trade Mason Rudolph after initial NFL roster cutdowns?

La Canfora added that "the unusually long gap between final roster cuts and the start of the regular season" has "given teams greater flexibility before Week 1" to complete trades for quarterbacks who may not have been made available in previous years. Schefter pointed out that the Steelers "like Howard and Allar," but it's unclear whether McCarthy likes one of them enough to trust that youngster to play in the event that Rodgers were to become unavailable later in September.