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.
In Other News...
Steelers Quarterback Depth Just Entered The Trade Deadline Conversation
The quarterback room in Pittsburgh has become a little more crowded than usual, and Mason Rudolphs name is now floating into the trade-deadline chatter. The Steelers currently carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, which is enough to make any depth chart worth watching this time of year, especially with the deadline approaching and teams around the league always one injury away from revisiting their plans.
ESPNs Jeremy Fowler mentioned Rudolph as a potential trade candidate, while also making clear he does not expect Pittsburgh to actually move anyone. Still, the speculation is easy to understand: quarterback depth can suddenly become valuable if injuries start piling up elsewhere, and the Steelers may find themselves with a decision to at least listen if the market shifts. For now, it reads more like a deadline subplot than a real expectation, but it is the kind of situation that tends to linger until the last minute. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Hit Fallout Raises An Issue Steelers Fans Will Appreciate
A Week 8 collision between the Browns and Steelers is still echoing for reasons that go beyond the play itself. Jared Verse took issue with the body-slam from Mason McCormick on a kick, but the bigger frustration for him was what came after, when he felt the response around him never matched the moment.
Verse has made his displeasure known publicly and has already taken the matter back to his team. For Steelers fans, the fallout is the kind of sideline edge they know well, with the hit itself now only part of a larger conversation about toughness, reaction, and who steps in when tempers flare. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Cornerback Regret Looks Worse With Every Week
The Steelers spent the 2026 offseason making a pair of cornerback decisions that looked tidy on paper at the time, but the picture has only gotten murkier since. Joey Porter Jr. went to the Cowboys, while James Pierre left for Minnesota, and the early returns have made it hard to ignore how much value Pittsburgh may have let walk out the door in one direction or another.
Pierre has settled in well with the Vikings, grading out as one of the leagues better corners and backing it up with strong coverage work. Porter has been solid enough in Dallas, but the contrast is enough to leave Pittsburgh wondering whether keeping Pierre around might have been the smarter move, especially when his new deal was the kind of number the Steelers could have lived with. [Read more 🡒]