Mason Rudolph to start camp as back-up

LATROBE (93.7 The Fan) – During team OTAs and mini-camp it was second-year Will Howard working as the back-up quarterback, that will change as Steelers training camp practices open on Wednesday.

“Aaron (Rodgers) will take the ones, Mason (Rudolph) will start off with this second group and Will and Drew will take that third group up,” said Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy Tuesday morning. “So that's the way we start and we'll just watch as we go.”

McCarthy was effusive in his praise of Howard and his abilities, interesting it’s Rudolph to begin camp. Under former head coach Mike Tomlin, veterans normally got the higher seeding to begin position battles, it could be it’s just the same under McCarthy. It could be more.

It’s been a great interactive discussion on our talk shows on who the backup will be. The team is still searching for an answer.

Rudolph brings 34 games and seven seasons of NFL experience and a couple of years ago put together three straight wins to end the season and get the Steelers in the playoffs. Howard won a national championship at Ohio State, but was injured right before preseason games last year and has never faced an opponent of any kind in the NFL. Drew Allar won 26 games at Penn State, missing much of his senior season, but seems to be more of a project, at least for 2026.

McCarthy admits it’s tougher to get enough of the reps for everyone, it’s why McCarthy has had just three quarterbacks in some of his training camps previously with Green Bay and Dallas.

The first priority is getting the starter ready, McCarthy puts that responsibility not only on Rodgers and the coaches, but the other quarterbacks. Then it’s on Rodgers to make sure Rudolph, Howard and Allar are connected.

“We need to get the other three to grow, especially the two young puppies,” McCarthy said.

He’s not opposed to keeping four quarterbacks on the roster. As McCarthy describes it, he takes the best 53 players regardless of position.

“That's why you have camp, that's why we're up here to compete,” McCarthy said. “That's what 21 days will give us a great look into that too. So, I think all four of those guys, if you're picking a team today, will be a different part of that 53-man conversation.”