Steelers could cut ties with veteran quarterback who would be the perfect Drake Maye backup for Patriots

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their starting quarterback back for the 2026 season, as Aaron Rodgers finally re-signed with the team on a one-year deal.

With Rodgers back in the fold, the Steelers now have four quarterbacks on their active roster heading into the summer. Mason Rudolph, 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard, and 2026 third-round pick Drew Allar are the other signal-callers for Pittsburgh behind Rodgers.

The Steelers aren't going to keep four quarterbacks on the roster after training camp, meaning someone in the position group has to be expendable.

Rudolph named Steelers cut candidate

As a result of the crowded quarterback room in Pittsburgh, Bleacher Report's Moe Moton listed Rudolph as a potential cut candidate.

"Rudolph is an established veteran, but if the Steelers have little concern about Rodgers' durability, even at his age, Howard and Allar could be his young understudies," Moton wrote.

Rudolph does feel like the odd man out in the Steelers' quarterback group. Pittsburgh isn't going to cut a third-round rookie in Allar without seeing him in sizeable game action, and Howard's potential and rapport with Rodgers also gives him a strong roster case.

Though Rudolph does have experience and has spent most of his career in Pittsburgh, I would bet on the Steelers taking the youth of Howard and Allar over him.

Patriots would be ideal landing spot for Rudolph

If the Steelers cut Rudolph, the New England Patriots make a ton of sense for the Oklahoma State product.

Though the Patriots re-signed Tommy DeVito to a two-year deal in March and also selected Behren Morton in the seventh round of April's draft, New England lacks experience in the quarterback room behind Drake Maye.

DeVito has appeared in just 12 games since entering the league in 2023, including eight starts. The 27-year-old was the Patriots' QB3 last season behind Joshua Dobbs, who was released in March.

In 19 career starts, Rudolph has posted a record of 9-9-1, with 30 touchdowns to 22 interceptions. The 30-year-old would provide some much-needed starting experience at quarterback for the Patriots and challenge Devito for the backup job.

Additionally, Rudolph would be pretty cheap to sign if he hits the market. The 2018 third-round pick is currently on the final year of a two-year, $7.5 million deal he signed with the Steelers last offseason.

Overall, Rudolph isn't the most exciting player, but if Pittsburgh decides to move on from him in the next few months and rolls with their young signal-callers to provide depth behind Rodgers, the Patriots should look to sign the veteran. Rudolph would be able to step up and provide adequate play if Maye goes down, and he is just a much safer backup option than DeVito.