PITTSBURGH —Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph is accustomed to life as the primary backup in the Steel City.
A third-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2018, Rudolph has spent all but one year of his career in Pittsburgh. He re-signed with the team in the 2025 offseason, after a one-year stint in Tennessee.
Rudolph is the second-most experienced quarterback on the roster, and turns 31 this month. Although any shot he might have had at the starting role dried up when Aaron Rodgers re-signed with the team in May, he is set to enter a season where he could get some in-game reps.
Rudolph has been one of the steadiest long-term backups in the league this decade, and has been a soluble quarterback when called upon. In 2023, he led the Steelers to three straight wins to end the regular season, completing 74.6% of his throws while racking up three touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
"This is a veteran team, we're trying to win now," Rudolph said. "These guys have been around a long time, and we want to make a playoff push. And I know I can contribute with that veteran culture."
The Steelers' quarterback room will be fascinating this season. Rodgers is 42, turning 43 in December. Third-round rookie Drew Allar and 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard seem to be in competition for the QB3 spot, but the investment in Allar suggests he might figure significantly into the team's future plans.
Rudolph sits at the crossroads of all this. He likely is not in talks to be the full-time starter at any point in the future. But given Rodgers' age and relatively recent injury history with the New York Jets, Rudolph needs to be ready to go at all times.
Last season, Rudolph ranked 60th out of 77 eligible quarterbacks with a Pro Football Focus passing grade of 50.5. This grade put him just below Bengals quarterback Jake Browning and just above the (briefly unretired) Philip Rivers.
While it seems overwhelmingly likely that Rudolph will be the QB2 to start the season, that is not necessarily guaranteed; Allar and Howard are both present, and the depth chart could change during training camp.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in a game against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 24, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Acquired:The Steelers signed Rudolph as a free agent during the 2025 offseason, kicking off his second stint in the Steel City.
Last Year:Rudolph made five game appearances. He came in briefly against Seattle, Cleveland and Buffalo, got significant action against Cincinnati and started against Chicago. He went 12-of-16 for 127 yards and a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. Rudolph kept it close in a narrow road loss to the Bears, going 24-of-31 for 171 yards, a touchdown, and a pick.
Pro Career:Rudolph spent 2018-23 with the Steelers, 2024 with the Tennessee Titans, and returned to Pittsburgh in 2025. He has thrown for 4,925 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 22 picks in his career. Rudolph has a 9-9-1 regular-season record as a starter, and is 0-1 in playoff starts.
Rudolph has made 34 regular-season appearances as a pro, 26 with Pittsburgh. The first two wins of his career came on Monday Night Football. The best years of Rudolph's career thus far have been 2019, where he made 10 appearances, and 2023, where he lifted the team to a late-season push and a playoff berth. The low point was arguably 2022, when Rudolph spent the entire year as the third-string emergency backup and never took a snap. He did not play at all as a rookie either.
| Year |
Team |
GP |
GS |
CMP |
ATT |
% |
YDS |
AVG |
TD |
INT |
SACK |
RTG |
| 2025 |
PIT |
5 |
1 |
38 |
52 |
73.1 |
310 |
6.0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
84.6 |
| 2024 |
TEN |
8 |
5 |
146 |
228 |
64.0 |
1,530 |
6.7 |
9 |
9 |
11 |
80.1 |
| 2023 |
PIT |
4 |
3 |
55 |
74 |
74.3 |
719 |
9.7 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
118.0 |
| 2021 |
PIT |
2 |
1 |
35 |
58 |
60.3 |
277 |
4.8 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
70.8 |
| 2020 |
PIT |
5 |
1 |
25 |
43 |
58.1% |
324 |
7.5 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
87.7 |
| 2019 |
PIT |
10 |
8 |
176 |
283 |
62.2 |
1,765 |
6.2 |
13 |
9 |
15 |
82.0 |
Rudolph attended Oklahoma State University from 2014-17. He became the starter in 2015.
The Cowboys went 10-3 in Rudolph's first year at the helm, averaging 39.5 points per game. They never scored less than 20 in any individual contest, and scored 40+ points in four separate games.
In 2016, Rudolph threw 28 touchdowns compared to four interceptions, as the team went 10-3 once more. Rudolph was a semifinalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, gifted to the best upperclassman quarterback in college football.
In 2017, Rudolph won the Golden Arm Award, racking up 37 touchdowns to nine picks and leading the squad to another 10-3 finish.
| Year |
Team |
GP |
GS |
CMP |
ATT |
% |
YDS |
AVG |
TD |
INT |
SACK |
RTG |
| 2017 |
OKST |
13 |
13 |
318 |
489 |
65.0 |
4,904 |
10.0 |
37 |
9 |
22 |
170.6 |
| 2016 |
OKST |
13 |
13 |
284 |
448 |
63.4 |
4,091 |
9.1 |
28 |
4 |
30 |
158.9 |
| 2015 |
OKST |
13 |
13 |
4 |
424 |
62.3 |
3,770 |
8.9 |
21 |
9 |
29 |
149 |
| 2014 |
OKST |
3 |
2 |
49 |
86 |
57 |
853 |
9.9 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
154 |
Measured at the NFL Combine: 6-foot-4 5/8, 235 pounds; 4.9-second 40-yard dash, 1.63-second 10-yard split; 26-inch vertical jump.
Rudolph received a Relative Athletic Score of 65.
Rudolph is in the final year of a 2-year, $7.5 million deal, with $3 million guaranteed. His cap hit this season is $4.6 million, and he eats up 1.53% of the cap.
Rudolph is the winningest quarterback in OKST history, with a 32-9 record as a starter. He surpassed his former coach Mike Gundy, who previously held the record.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Mason Rudolph Brings Veteran Backup Experience to Pittsburgh's QB Room
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