After much ado, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers<\/strong> returned to the Steelers on a brand new deal last weekend then, shortly after, announced his plans to retire following the 2026 NFL season. Each bits of stories could influence the makeup of the quarterbacks room moving forward in Pittsburgh, and the probabilities of who may be the odd man out are extremely interesting.<\/p>\n <\/a>Rodgers is clearly the starter, as he returns for his twenty second season of NFL play, but in his return, he joined an existing three-man group. Latest head coach Mike McCarthy<\/strong> is unquestionably thrilled to be reunited along with his longtime quarterback from the pair\u2019s time in Green Bay together, but he has routinely carried not more than three quarterbacks on the energetic roster in any given 12 months, sometimes going with two but sticking with three a majority of the time. With Rodgers in tow, it now becomes an issue of which of the opposite three can be the odd man out.<\/p>\n The three likely competing for 2 spots are veteran backup Mason Rudolph<\/strong>, 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard<\/strong>, and rookie third-round pick Drew Allar<\/strong>. While a few mixtures seem to be obvious favorites, there are several arguments that make this an intriguing battle to observe.<\/p>\n One seemingly obvious conclusion could be that Rudolph should be one in all the 2 backups; in actual fact, it could be an inexpensive presumption to say that he needs to be the first backup. Since being taken within the third round out of Oklahoma State eight years ago, Rudolph has appeared in 34 games, starting 19 but never functioning as QB1 for a team. He\u2019s shown over time that he can keep a team afloat, but a limited ceiling is probably going going to maintain him from being the person to eventually take the reins from Rodgers.<\/p>\n In accordance with Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rudolph believes Rodgers\u2019 presence bodes well for him. With Rodgers, he sees the Steelers<\/a> as a \u201cwin now\u201d team that would ride Rodgers off into the sunset on top. In the event that they\u2019re going all in on this one season to \u201cwin now,\u201d they would want an experienced backup, in case Rodgers can\u2019t make all of it the best way from start to complete. Fortunately for Rudolph, Howard and Allar have combined for zero NFL snaps as of today, and it\u2019s hard to assume the team would feel comfortable with either teenager coming off the bench without delay instead of Rodgers.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s the case, then the argument could possibly be made for holding on to the younger pair of backups. Howard has a slight advantage over Allar, having been on the team for a 12 months longer, but Howard\u2019s rookie-year redshirt was essentially a medical redshirt, keeping him away from most of the things that will\u2019ve provided him a well-known edge over Allar. If McCarthy likes passers who’re \u201cjust starting out,\u201d Allar could also be his perfect canvas. The Penn State-product didn\u2019t even start playing the position until highschool, and though he oozes potential, numerous production did not make it to the sector in Glad Valley.<\/p>\n A Steelers correspondent on The Pat McAfee Show<\/em>, Mark Kaboly seemed pretty of convinced<\/a> of how things might shake out. He began with the plain route, slotting Rodgers in at QB1 and Rudolph in as his experienced backup. Then, when selecting between Howard and Allar for the third spot, Kaboly opted for the higher-drafted Allar, who also has more years of team control remaining on his contract. Kaboly thinks this route also gives Pittsburgh its strongest probability to retain all 4 guys. Either young player could be placed on waivers, if cut, and be susceptible to any team claiming them. Howard stands the very best probability of clearing waivers to land on the practice squad, while Allar would likely draw an honest variety of claims as a third-round pick with potential.<\/p>\n To see where Rodgers\u2019 retirement plans come into effect, one must fast forward a 12 months. Further supporting the potential hierarchy Pryor noted, the notion Pittsburgh might move forward with Rudolph because the starter next 12 months is very unlikely. If it seems the Steelers aren’t as competitive as they hope to be in Rodgers\u2019 final 12 months, McCarthy and Co. could also be thinking about seeing what they’ve of their younger arms.<\/p>\n There may be a lot time that can transpire before anything definitive decisions should be made. Injuries or trades may make the team\u2019s decision for them, or one in all the three contenders could begin to steal the show and run away with the job. While Rodgers is clearly the star of the room, it should be very interesting to see how the battle behind him plays out.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After much ado, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned to the Steelers on a brand new deal last weekend then, shortly after, announced his plans to retire following the 2026 NFL season. Each bits of stories could influence the makeup of the quarterbacks room moving forward in Pittsburgh, and the probabilities of who may be the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[1116,2348,5596,8721],"class_list":["post-339283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-aaron","tag-hierarchy","tag-rodgers","tag-steelers"],"aioseo_notices":[{"message":"The permalink for this post just changed! 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<\/a>Bucking against the plain presumption, McCarthy, who has a penchant for developing quarterbacks, has expressed his preference for molding younger, less experienced arms. \u201cI really like the young guys, especially whenever you get them once they\u2019re just starting out,\u201d<\/em> McCarthy said at rookie minicamp (per ESPN\u2019s Brooke Pryor<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/a>In a surprising update from just a pair days ago, though, Pryor reported that, at early practice activities, Howard has been taking QB2 reps<\/a> over each Allar and Rudolph. As a third-round pick this 12 months under McCarthy, it seems highly unlikely that Allar could be going anywhere, so Rudolph could find yourself being the odd man out. We\u2019d likely have to see this stack with way more consistency before truly believing that Howard has surpassed Rudolph on the depth chart, however it\u2019s great experience for the Ohio State-product regardless.<\/p>\n