The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of quality veterans on the defense. From Cam Heyward, to Darius Slay, T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers have a good identity on that side of the ball. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the offense. They’ve shuffled around with veteran quarterbacks the last two offseasons. Yet, the Steelers’ current starting quarterback would be Mason Rudolph.
ESPN’s Booger McFarland thinks they aren’t putting in enough effort to compete on the offensive side of the ball, and he questions why some of the Steelers’ veterans should even ‘show up.’
“They are taking years off the lives of guys who are potential Hall of Fame players,” McFarland said on NFL Live on Wednesday. “When you talk about Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, if you go out there with Mason Rudolph in game one? If I’m Cam Heyward, I might not even show up game one, because if you’re not going to put forth the effort offensively, or organizationally, why do you want me out here?”
For what it’s worth, there’s enough evidence to prove that won’t be how some of the Steelers’ star defenders feel. Back in 2023, the Steelers were on the brink of playoff contention when Mason Rudolph was inserted as a starter in Week 16. Back then, both T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward spoke out in support of Rudolph. That confidence must have helped, since Rudolph led Pittsburgh to run the table and sneak into the playoffs.
This offseason, the Steelers are in a similar situation. There’s uncertainty at the quarterback position, and Mason Rudolph would be the starter if the season began tomorrow. The fact that Pittsburgh is in that situation has drawn criticism from many, including McFarland. However, the locker room’s confidence in Rudolph remains high. Nick Herbig recently appeared on Heyward’s ‘Not Just Football’ podcast and mentioned that he liked the Steelers ‘options’ at the position, referring to Rudolph and Will Howard.
This isn’t the first time McFarland has been critical of how the Steelers have handled the quarterback position. And there is some reason for his opinion. Key players like Heyward, Watt, and Fitzpatrick are only getting older. Pittsburgh’s done nothing to seriously upgrade, stretching beyond just the quarterback. Their receiving corps took a hit as well after trading George Pickens.
At the end of the day, the Steelers are hoping they’ll land their quarterback of the future in the 2026 NFL Draft. They’ve got plenty of trade ammunition to make sure that happens. That could pay off, having a promising quarterback on a rookie contract. Until there’s an answer, though, analysts like McFarland aren’t going to be getting any happier with the Steelers.
