Steelers' Omar Khan May Be Eager To Move On From An Unexpected Player

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have some interesting choices to make on certain players when free agency begins on March 11th. There are certainly players that the team will want to keep, while others will be allowed to test the market. However, a lot of questions remain on other players currently signed to deals. There has been plenty of speculation that the Steelers may not have plans for their futures, all while talk of the free agents continues.

One of these players may come as a shock to Steelers fans, as his future might be in limbo. The most intriguing part about this player's uncertain future is that Steelers General Manager Omar Khan seemed to avoid answering questions about him earlier on Tuesday.

Mark Kaboly and Chris Mack hosted the latest episode of the Kaboly + Mack show, and with Kaboly himself being present at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine to ask his own questions, he revealed some interesting information. Kaboly's comment revealed that while the Steelers appear to have plans sorted out for a key position group, they might not include a player people would expect to be there.

"Now, how is it gonna play after that, is the bigger of a key," Kaboly said. "Who's two, who's three? You looking to draft a guy, you looking to bring in a free agent, once again, he totally ignored Mason Rudolph until I had to bring it up. I said, 'What's up with Mason?' 'Oh we love Mason.' It was like a foregone conclusion. I was like, 'Hey, you never mentioned him in [Mike] McCarthy's two interviews or his interviews online, you never mentioned him, but I guess Mason Rudolph is part of the plan too?'"

These comments about backup quarterback Mason Rudolph are surfacing near the time when new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy had also failed to mention him with regards to the quarterback situation. It seems like with how both Khan and McCarthy have dodged questions regarding Rudolph, his time in Pittsburgh could be over.

If Rudolph's time with the Steelers is truly over, then there will be a lot of surprise when the announcement officially comes. Rudolph was drafted by the Steelers in 2018, and has been with the team all but one year since he's been in the league. Some had considered Rudolph to be the future of the franchise, but now, he may be on the way out if more questions regarding him are dodged. 

With the hype surrounding Steelers quarterback Will Howard, on top of the potential news of quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning for one more year, it has opened the door for Rudolph to be pushed out of the team's future plans. However, Kaboly's comments do indicate that the Steelers could still keep him, especially if they aren't a fan of any free agent quarterback or a quarterback in the draft. 

The likelihood that Rudolph remains on the team is still in question, but regardless of whoever the Steelers decide to put in at quarterback next season, they need to prioritize having a better plan in place for them if they want to remain competitive.

Steelers Need To Build Around Their Future Quarterback

No matter who the Steelers decide the starting quarterback is in 2026, their plans need to revolve around giving them the best chance to win. With plenty of big names at wide receiver available in free agency and the draft, the franchise has a golden opportunity. No matter which quarterback ends up starting, giving them a better supporting cast on offense will greatly increase the team's chances of winning in the future.

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