Who Should I Start? Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph

Wednesday, June 11, 5:27 PM

Theoretically, The Athletic's Mike DeFabo writes that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won't have as much pressure to win games with his right arm alone on a team that has the league's highest-paid defense and features a run-heavy offense that will limit his exposure. Pittsburgh pretty much did the same last year with Russell Wilson, and although they made the playoffs, they scored just 14.2 points per game in their final five games. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the 41-year-old signal-caller, who now lacks mobility after tearing his Achilles in 2023. Rodgers was the NFL's worst QB against the blitz in 2024 and has thrown double-digit interceptions in his last two full seasons. His completion percentage (63%) was the fourth-lowest of any season in which he played at least 16 games. In a run-first offense, Rodgers will be a low-end QB2 in fantasy with minimal upside.

Wednesday, May 28, 11:59 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph opened OTAs with the first-team offense on Tuesday, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. This news isn't much of a surprise, but it does confirm head coach Mike Tomlin's vision as full-team practices get underway this summer. Presumably, the starting quarterback job is Rudolph's to lose, barring an external quarterback addition such as Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins. Rudolph's internal competition comes from Skylar Thompson and rookie Will Howard. Thompson has completed just 58.7 percent of his career passes with one touchdown, three interceptions, and two fumbles. He primarily served as a backup over three seasons in Miami. Meanwhile, Howard is a rookie who impressed at Ohio State, but he has suboptimal draft capital as a sixth-round pick. On the other hand, Rudolph has shown flashes of potential during his time with the Steelers (2018-2023) and Titans (2024). In Tennessee last year, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,530 yards, nine touchdowns, and nine interceptions.