Pittsburgh shouldn\u2019t be ready to ship Mason Rudolph off tomorrow. But they should begin thinking about where he could go next. Drafting Drew Allar crowds a quarterback room with normally three spots. Will Howard still seems likely to make the team, and Aaron Rodgers will eventually sign to round out the depth chart.<\/p>\n
While that gives Pittsburgh an inexperienced quarterback room behind the starter, it\u2019s a path the Steelers have gone down before. As Matthew Marczi rightly pointed out, the team entered 2018 with a second-year Josh Dobbs and rookie Mason Rudolph behind Ben Roethlisberger, a construction incredibly similar to how 2026 could look.<\/p>\n
Rudolph is logical to get the squeeze. Not only from McCarthy\u2019s lack of comments about him throughout the offseason, but Ian Rapoport notes the Steelers are \u201copen\u201d<\/a> to trading Rudolph.<\/p>\n So where could he go? Plenty of NFL teams could use his services as a veteran and experienced backup. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fit as well as anyone.<\/p>\n For multiple reasons. One, there\u2019s an obvious need. Tampa Bay has an established quarterback in Baker Mayfield, but nothing behind him. Jake Browning is currently the No. 2. Once a capable fill-in for Joe Burrow, Browning tanked in 2025 with poor decision-making that compelled the franchise to make the rare in-division trade for a quarterback, acquiring Joe Flacco and drawing Mike Tomlin\u2019s ire.<\/p>\n A free agent this offseason, Browning signed a one-year, veteran-benefit contract with the Buccaneers that offers him no safe harbor of making the roster. After him sit 2025 UDFA Connor Bazelak and 2026 UDFA Jalon Daniels. Having a veteran who can bridge a short-term injury is critical to a team like Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are in win-now mode, have Todd Bowles on the hot seat, and can certainly compete in their division, winning it four of the last five years. Mayfield\u2019s style can be aggressive and reckless, and though he\u2019s made it through full seasons each of the last three years, that streak could be at risk now in his 30s.<\/p>\n Rudolph has connections to Tampa Bay. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson starred at Oklahoma State years before Rudolph did, the team\u2019s quarterback from 2005-2009. The two didn\u2019t just share a school. Robinson mentored and trained Rudolph as he entered the 2018 NFL Draft, literally living together and acting as, one article put it, his \u201cbig brother\u201d<\/a> for those several months.<\/p>\n