Across five years and two stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph went 8-5-1 as a starter, including a brief playoff run in 2023. And yet, it seems his own teammates can’t be bothered to say his name.

ESPN insider Rich Eisen shared the whole story himself recently. When 7x Pro Bowler defensive tackle Cam Heyward appeared on The Rich Eisen Show before the 2026 NFL Draft, Eisen only asked him about the Steelers’ second-year quarterback Will Howard. Rudolph’s name didn’t come up once, and per Eisen, that created some tension.

“With all due respect to the kids that they got there, and Mason Rudolph, who apparently got pissed off when Cam Heyward was only talking about Will Howard,” Eisen revealed on his show recently, “because I only asked him about Will Howard, when he came on the program the week before the draft.”

Now, the part that stings isn’t the Rich Eisen interview. It’s what Heyward said in late April to CBS Sports.

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Mason Rudolph,” Heyward had said when asked who steps up after Aaron Rodgers. “I think both of those guys (Howard and Mason), they give us a leg up in different ways. Mason has earned his spot. Went to Tennessee (2024 season), came back, and when Mason had to step up, he’s stepped up in those moments.”

But come draft week on The Rich Eisen Show, Cam Heyward didn’t mention any of that.

Rudolph returned to Pittsburgh for 2025 after a year with the Tennessee Titans, and played limited snaps when Aaron Rodgers left with an injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. In five games, he logged 310 passing yards and two touchdowns against two picks. He was useful, not irreplaceable.

After the 2025 season, Rudolph sat through exit meetings knowing the team was actively pursuing other quarterbacks and waiting for Rodgers to return. Rudolph came back anyway. So when the conversation moved on without him, the anger was reasonable.

The Steelers brought Rudolph back because Will Howard is a former sixth-round pick with no real NFL experience yet. Rookie third-rounder Drew Allar from this year’s draft also needs time to learn the ropes. If Rodgers doesn’t sign, Pittsburgh can’t hand it to either of those two. Rudolph knows that, and so do the Steelers. The question is whether that calculation keeps him on the roster until September.

But this calculus shifts entirely if Rodgers actually shows up – which, per the latest reports, he’s about to do.

Is the quarterback question ending?

Aaron Rodgers is expected to visit the Steelers this Friday, 8th May, and finalize a deal for the 2026 season, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Pittsburgh placed an unrestricted free-agent tender on Rodgers recently – a rarely-used mechanism that blocks him from negotiating with other teams after July 22, and would net the Steelers a compensatory pick if he signed elsewhere before the deadline. That’s not a move you make on a player you’re ambivalent about.

Last season saw Rodgers throw for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns against seven picks. They were efficient numbers built on a run-heavy Arthur Smith scheme. Veteran wideout DK Metcalf posted a career-low 850 yards. The offense stayed on the field and avoided mistakes, but it rarely pushed the ball down the field. Still, the Steelers managed to win the NFC North, and ultimately lost 30-6 to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round. The questions about their offensive ceiling never got answered.

That’s the specific problem former Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. has been brought in to fix. The Steelers traded for him before the 2026 Draft and handed him a three-year extension. Pairing him with Metcalf to give new head coach Mike McCarthy a legitimate two-receiver threat for the first time in Pittsburgh in a long time. Pittman can run routes and help in the intermediate game while Metcalf stretches the field. For Rodgers, who spent 2025 in a system that limited him, that pairing is the difference between managing a game plan and actually running one.

Now, Rodgers is 42-years-old, coming off a productive season, and his last full contract was worth $13.65 million. And while he has maintained his silence, the Steelers have also shown real patience. But there is a version of this narrative where Rodgers could arrive for his visit, and the money conversation stalls. Pittsburgh’s tender gives them leverage, but Rodgers has options after July 22 if this drags on long enough.

If a deal does get through, the hierarchy in Pittsburgh is set: Rodgers starts, Mason Rudolph backs up, and Howard and Allar develop. Nobody will be asking Cam Heyward about Mason Rudolph again. And Rudolph will have to decide, for the second time in two years, whether that’s a role he’ll accept.