The Pittsburgh Steelers could be in trouble at the beginning of the 2025 season due to their quarterback situation.
Appearing on ESPN's schedule reveal show, former NFL signal caller and current analyst Dan Orlovsky wasn't spewing any optimism when it came to the Steelers' outlook should Mason Rudolph get the nod as their starter.
“I think you’re staring at 0-6 with Mason,” Orlovsky said. “This is an offense that is only DK Metcalf right now on the perimeter.”
That's quite the take considering Pittsburgh isn't exactly staring down a run of daunting opponents over the opening weeks. It begins on the road against Justin Fields and the New York Jets, who brought in a new regime and finished 5-11 last season, before taking on the Seattle Seahawks in its home opener.
The Steelers will travel to New England and face off against a new-look Patriots squad in Week 3 before participating in the league's first-ever regular season game in Ireland vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4.
Following a Week 5 bye, Pittsburgh will face a pair of its AFC North rivals in the Cleveland Browns (Week 6) and Cincinnati Bengals (Week 7), the latter of which is a Thursday Night Football showdown.
Only one of those six teams, being the Vikings, made the playoffs last season. Orlovsky's opinion on the matter comes down to the Steelers' uninspiring quarterback room, but even if Rudolph is handed the reins to the offense, the gap between him and some of his counterparts during that stretch isn't wide enough to declare that they'll go winless considering how talented the rest of Pittsburgh's roster is.
Louis Riddick, however, agreed with Orlovsky's sentiment, stating that the Steelers' first four contests in particular could pose a major challenge due to the disparity behind center.
“Those first four games before you get to the bye, every one of those teams has a quarterback situation you would take over Pittsburgh’s,” Riddick said. “That throws everything up in the air for this football team. I don’t care. We can dissect this schedule and slice it a thousand different ways; every single team’s quarterback situation [is better].”
This discussion would quickly become irrelevant when and if Aaron Rodgers signs with Pittsburgh, but because that has yet to happen, the possibility of Rudolph starting has to be taken into consideration.
There's no denying that the Steelers would be in a bit of a tough spot with Rudolph as QB No. 1 since he has started just 10 games over the past six seasons, but there's little to no chance that the team would be among the league's worst with him at the helm when looking at the full picture.
