Turn back the clock a week and thoughts were: who do the Steelers have if not Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson? They caught almost everyone off guard with the answer by bringing back Mason Rudolph. Honestly, nobody saw it coming. Everyone thought it would either be Aaron Rodgers or maybe an extension with Russ. Rudolph was never in the picture, and now he’s on the squad. Well, you can say it’s never a dull day in the NFL. Now that Mason is here for the second time, the question is, will he finally get to be the starting QB? Or do the Steelers have someone else in mind for QB1?

Ever since we entered the offseason, the rumor mill has been working overtime. Lately, the talk of the town is that the Steelers are looking to draft a young QB alongside Mason. And this young QB is Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart. That’s right, the word is that Pittsburgh is targeting the 21-year-old to complete their QB puzzle. The fans are already hyping up Dart, who racked up 4,279 yards with 29 TDs in the 2024 season. Dart, who was earlier at USC, decided to transfer to Ole Miss after Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall pick of 2024) transferred to USC back in 2021.

Now, the Steelers, who are thin at QB depth, need to add someone to the team – Mason Rudolph alone won’t do. Their first pick this season is the 21st overall, in the first round. Mike Tomlin‘s squad did not get any compensatory picks this year. In total, Pittsburgh has seven picks this season. Analysts are predicting that Jaxson would be the third QB picked in 2025 after Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

As rumors swirl about the Steelers possibly selecting Jaxson Dart, Luke Easterling predicts otherwise. The Athlon Sports analyst projects that the Ole Miss QB could land with the Cleveland Browns as the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the draft.

So, for now, who is going to partner/compete with Mason Rudolph on QB duties remains uncertain.

Mason Rudolph and beyond: Steelers’ QB future uncertain

Justin Fields‘ exit from the Steelers left Mike Tomlin and the front office in such a mess that the team had to turn back to Mason Rudolph. When Fields dropped the bomb that he was signing with the Jets, most of the big-name QBs that were in free agency had already found homes. Only a handful were in free agency. Two of them, closely linked to Pittsburgh, still are. Both Super Bowl winners: Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. Russ made some sense after Fields left, but the Steelers are not ready to give him another chance. They let him hit free agency.

And as for Rodgers, the word is that the Steelers’ offer is still on his table, but the 41-year-old is yet to make any decision. Rodgers’ name has been getting linked to the Vikings as well. If he goes to the Vikings, he will help in developing their young QB J.J. McCarthy. The Steelers could not afford to just sit and wait to hear back from Rodgers, so they got Mason Rudolph on board. He returns to the Steelers after a year of playing as a backup QB to the Titans‘ Will Levis. During his six years with the Steelers, the 29-year-old never served as the starting QB, except for a handful of games. Now, he will be returning to Pittsburgh, but it’s still unclear whether the team will let him play as QB1 or if they’ve drafted him as a backup once again.

As per reports, the team has signed a two-year deal with Mason. And the word is also that they are still hoping to hear from Rodgers. The entire situation is getting confusing with Jaxson Dart also entering the picture now. Well, whoever will be signing with the team, one thing is sure: it will be interesting if the long-spinning Steelers QB room carousel finally comes to a halt.