The Steelers are sitting in a strong spot at the top of the AFC North heading into their Week 9 bye, but the bigger picture in the division has shifted fast. Baltimore, the team that looked like the biggest threat to the crown, is suddenly scrambling after three straight losses and a quarterback situation that has gone sideways.
The Ravens have been outscored 71-23 over their last two games, and the injury news has only made things uglier. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is out indefinitely with a thumb injury, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that Tyler Huntley is done for the year with a severe turf toe injury. That leaves Baltimore leaning on a rookie third-stringer for now, with Fagnano and reserve quarterback Kedon Slovis as the remaining options mentioned.
That’s where Mason Rudolph enters the conversation. The Steelers obviously aren’t in the habit of helping a division rival, but there’s a case that moving Rudolph to Baltimore could actually work in Pittsburgh’s favor.
At this point in his career, Rudolph is what he is: a steady stop-gap who can handle a start when needed, but not someone you want running the show for a long stretch. For a Ravens team in desperation mode, that kind of experience might be enough to tempt them into overpaying.
And if Pittsburgh is going to deal with Baltimore anyway, there’s a bigger reason to think about it: keeping the Ravens from making a more dangerous quarterback move.
Schefter has already mentioned Baltimore as a possible landing spot for Daniel Jones, and there’s also buzz that Kirk Cousins could be in play before the deadline. Jones has been rough this season, though the source notes what he did in the first half of 2025 before the Achilles injury, and Cousins is on pace for 40 touchdowns, 10 touchdowns, and more than 4,500 passing yards when prorated over a 17-game season.
That’s the real choice here. Rudolph or Cousins.
With a new innovative offensive coordinator in Declan Doyle and an aggressive young head coach in Jesse Minter, Cousins might be good enough to keep Baltimore hanging around if Jackson returns late in the season or in the playoffs. Rudolph, on the other hand, would give the Ravens very little chance to stay alive in a crowded AFC playoff race.
There’s also the schedule to think about. Pittsburgh has two head-to-head meetings with Baltimore later in the year, and the article notes there’s virtually no chance Joe Fagnano is still the Ravens’ quarterback by then. From a Steelers perspective, facing Rudolph again would be a lot more familiar than potentially lining up against Cousins if Baltimore goes in another direction.
The deadline timing matters too. With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the price for Rudolph could rise fast.
Before the season, he might have been worth a sixth-round pick or a Day 3 pick swap. Now, the Ravens might be willing to send as much as a fourth-round pick to get him.
That’s not a blockbuster return, but it’s something. And if Baltimore pays that price for Rudolph, Pittsburgh may have blocked a more aggressive move at the same time.
There’s another wrinkle here: Rudolph might actually help Baltimore in a way that ends up benefiting the Steelers. If the Ravens are going to be bad anyway, the best thing for them might be to lose out and improve their draft positioning.
Playing Fagnano or Slovis could help them bottom out and chase a future star in next April’s draft. Rudolph, though, is competent enough to win a few games and maybe damage that positioning.
The Ravens still have games coming up against the Chargers, Panthers, and Buccaneers, and Rudolph could be just good enough to keep those contests competitive. That could be the difference between Baltimore picking in the top five or somewhere closer to the top fifteen in each round of the 2027 NFL Draft.
He could also swing a game or two against the Browns or Bengals. Those are the divisional opponents Baltimore still has left, and those teams are more threatening to the Steelers right now than the Ravens are. If Rudolph helps the Ravens steal one of those matchups, that could help Pittsburgh’s own push in the division.
Of course, if Rudolph somehow keeps Baltimore alive and then beats the Steelers late, that’s the risk. But the article makes the point plainly: if that happens, then Pittsburgh has bigger problems than the trade itself.
In-division quarterback trades don’t happen often, but they’re not unheard of. Last season, Joe Flacco went from the Browns to the Bengals shortly before the 2025 NFL trade deadline and then beat the Steelers two weeks later. That’s the kind of precedent that keeps this idea from sounding completely out of bounds.
Still, the odds of Omar Khan and the Steelers actually sending their backup quarterback to Baltimore are slim. But if the move keeps the Ravens from landing a better quarterback, nudges them toward a lesser option, brings back some draft capital, and maybe even helps Pittsburgh indirectly in the standings, it’s at least a conversation worth having.
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Around the league, the chatter has already started about what comes next if this situation drags into 2027, with some clubs doing their homework on a possible pursuit. The Ravens still have every reason to hope Jackson remains the face of the franchise, but for now his future in Baltimore feels far less settled than it did not long ago. [Read more 🡒]
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The deal gives Baltimore a veteran option as the team tries to keep its playoff hopes alive, and it has already drawn plenty of reaction from analysts weighing how much it can actually change the outlook. The timing alone makes it noteworthy, but the bigger question is how much runway the Ravens still have to make this move matter before the schedule tightens and the pressure keeps building. [Read more 🡒]