The Steelers’ backup quarterback competition may end with a smaller payday for Mason Rudolph than some around the league might expect.
Aaron Rodgers is locked in as Pittsburgh’s starter, but everything behind him is unsettled. Third-round pick Drew Allar looks like a roster lock and appears likely to open as the third quarterback, even if he has shown enough this summer to at least make the conversation interesting about whether he can climb higher.
That leaves Will Howard and Rudolph fighting for the backup role. At one point, Howard seemed to have the inside track.
That no longer feels as clear now that Rudolph has been getting backup reps to begin camp. Howard has had his moments, but the job still needs to be decided.
If Howard wins the battle, Rudolph could become available in a trade. The problem for Pittsburgh is that his market may not be nearly as strong as some fans have imagined.
There has been talk that Rudolph could fetch something as high as a fifth-round pick. That feels like a reach.
He’s a capable reserve, but he is seen as a backup and little more at this stage of his career. His value comes from being able to step in for a stretch if needed, not from carrying a premium price tag.
Recent deals suggest the market for that type of quarterback is modest. A seventh-round pick appears closer to the going rate for a typical backup, with late-round pick swaps also in play. The article points to the Sam Howell trades and the Andy Dalton deal this offseason as examples.
There are a couple of ways the price could move. A younger bounce-back candidate can draw more, but Rudolph doesn’t fit that profile. A team hit by a backup injury right before the season could also create a market, and so could a club that suddenly loses its starter for a short spell.
That’s the kind of scenario that made Joe Flacco valuable to the Bengals last year, when they paid extra to get short-term help while Joe Burrow recovered. If a team needed Rudolph for the first four or five games, he could potentially keep that club afloat until the starter returned.
Even so, the most likely outcome still looks like a low-end return if Pittsburgh moves him at all. With teams using their starters lightly in the preseason, the chance for a bidding war doesn’t seem strong. The Steelers could always keep all four quarterbacks, but that doesn’t appear to be the favorite path.
So if Rudolph ends up losing the backup job, there should be interest. Just don’t expect Pittsburgh to get much back for him.
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