Steelers' Mike McCarthy Shouts Out Surprising Mentor During Mandatory Minicamp

The Pittsburgh Steelers have paused Organized Team Activities (OTAs) to begin their 2026 mandatory minicamp. This is a new format for the team as Head Coach Mike McCarthy opted to sandwich this period between a bunch of OTA periods, as opposed to it being at the very end of the offseason program like it has been done in previous years. With all the veterans back on the team, there are more brains for the young players to pick as they look to gain as much knowledge as they can to prove themselves, either as starters or just depth pieces. 

There have been a handful of players that have made it their mission to help mentor the newer guys. During a Tuesday press conference, McCarthy brought up one name that has not been talked about much in terms of mentorship, as he has supposedly been doing a great job coaching up the ones behind him.

"I've really grown to have a lot of appreciation for Mason [Rudolph]," McCarthy said. "I've really enjoyed our time together; he's a h*ll of a football player, and so he's another layer of experience for our two young players. And Will [Howard] and Drew [Allar] are just soaking it up, frankly."

Aaron Rodgers has been praised nonstop as a great mentor for the young quarterbacks, but he's not the only veteran with knowledge to hand down. Mason Rudolph has been around for a while and understands how everything works in the NFL. In fact, there are some little tidbits of information that he can give to the inexperienced passers that Rodgers can't. 

Rudolph has mostly been a career backup throughout his NFL career. That is most likely how Will Howard will see his first ever snaps in an NFL game: coming in to relieve Rodgers for whatever reason. The soon-to-be 31-year-old can explain the mentality of coming in and impressing the coaches despite getting limited reps while staying ready for any situation at all. 

Rudolph has also dealt with some unique adversity, and he can can pass a ton of information on as a lesson to some of the younger signal-callers on the team who are just getting acclimated. It's unclear exactly what he has been coaching these younger players on, but whatever it is, McCarthy seems to be very impressed with how it's been taken. Rudolph might have a future as a quarterbacks coach.

Steelers Have Odd Situation Surrounding Rudolph's Mentorship

It's great to see Rudolph taking these quarterbacks under his wing. If he coaches them too well, however, he is suddenly out of a job. Howard is looking to take over as QB2, and there is no scenario where the Steelers will cut third-round rookie Drew Allar. Barring injury, the veteran backup would most likely be the odd man out. He'd be watching the fruits of his labor from his couch or while with another team. 

There is always the chance that the Steelers opt to put Allar on Injured Reserve (IR) whether he truly needs it or not, but if that's the case, Howard would still likely be higher on the depth chart with Rudolph acting as the scout team quarterback. If that ends up being the case, he would essentially be a coach that's listed on the 53-man roster, as opposed to a backup that will be expected to take some in-game reps here and there.

Alternatively, Rudolph could be the one that would be placed on IR so he could focus on mentoring throughout the season, similar to when former teammate Joshua Dobbs was sidelined for a whole year for turf toe in 2021. Either way, McCarthy does want to keep all four passers on the team, and it will be very interesting to see how things work out starting in 2026 training camp.

What do you think about McCarthy praising Rudolph's mentorship ability? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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