Category: Pittsburgh Steelers

With Aaron Rodgers dealing with a left wrist injury, the Steelers worked out veteran quarterbacks Jason Bean and Tanner Mordecai on Tuesday, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

Pittsburgh currently has three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster and zero on their practice squad. Backup Mason Rudolph, and third-stringer Will Howard will both move up a spot on the depth chart for at least a week, leaving the Steelers without a third option should either of them get injured.

Bean, 26, signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Kansas in 2024. He did not make the 53-man roster, but stuck around on the practice squad for the entire season. He was waived during final roster cuts this year and did not draw practice squad interest from the Colts or any other team.

Mordecai is also a 26-year-old who entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2024. Mordecai finished his college career at Wisconsin and signed with the 49ers last spring. He spent the season on San Francisco’s practice squad and was repeatedly cut and re-signed during training camp as the team balanced their other roster needs. He was waived due to injury a final time during roster cuts.

The Steelers did not sign Bean or Mordecai, though that could be coming in the next few days as they continue to assess Rodgers’ wrist. They could also work out other available quarterbacks later this week.

The Steelers also worked out wide receivers Cole Burgess, Elijah Cooks, and Cornell Powell on Tuesday, per Cardswire’s Howard Balzer.

Monday saw Aaron Rodgers undergo further testing on his injured left wrist. Positive updates have emerged on that front.

Surgery will not be required, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. That marks an expected but significant development given Rodgers’ importance to the Steelers. Head coach Mike Tomlin has since confirmed during his Tuesday press conference that Rodgers is dealing with a fracture which he will need to play through down the stretch.

“Really it’s just about bracing it and securing it for his comfort and safety,” Tomlin said of the situation with Rodgers’ wrist (via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic). “And then it’s about how functional he is.”

Rodgers will not practice tomorrow, Tomlin added to little surprise (h/t ESPN’s Brooke Pryor). His status for Week 12 will be a question mark over the coming days as a result, though Rodgers hopes to be able to suit up. Sunday may very well represent the longtime Packers star’s final opportunity to play against the Bears, even if he elects to continue playing in 2026.

Mason Rudolph filled in for Rodgers to close out Pittsburgh’s Week 11 win over Cincinnati. The Steelers sit atop the AFC North at 6-4, but they only hold a one-game lead over the Ravens at this point. Being at full strength on offense will be critical, although Tomlin said (via Pryor) conversations about Rodgers receiving medical clearance for this week have not yet taken place.

Updates to this situation will be worth watching closely over the coming days. In the meantime, the Steelers will have Mason Rudolph in place as a potential starter. The veteran returned to Pittsburgh this past offseason by signing a two-year free agent deal. Rudolph did so despite knowing Pittsburgh was interested in adding Rodgers to the mix as a short-term upgrade under center. Things have largely gone according to plan at the QB spot so far, but a change atop the depth chart for at least one week may prove to be necessary.

The Bengals lost an important divisional game against the Steelers on Sunday, dropping them to 3-7. Already without starting quarterback Joe Burrow until at least Week 13, Cincinnati may also lose its top wideout, Ja’Marr Chase, for a game. 

In the fourth quarter of the Bengals-Steelers contest, Pittsburgh’s Jalen Ramsey was ejected for punching Chase. While passing along a video of the incident, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo says Ramsey’s transgression appears to have been more of a grab of Chase’s facemask than a true punch. Ramsey and Chase had already been flagged for offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, however, so Ramsey presumably would have been ejected regardless.

Ramsey’s teammate, Joey Porter Jr. , told reporters after the game that Chase spit on Ramsey, which triggered the mercurial defensive back’s reaction (video link via ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin). Porter acknowledges he did not see the alleged expectoration, and Chase denied the claim (via Martin).

But in a video passed along by Fox 19 sports photographer Austin Briski, it appears Ramsey was correct and that Chase did, in fact, spit on him. Head referee Bill Vinovich said in the postgame pool report that neither he nor any other members of his crew witnessed that part of the altercation (from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

An NFL spokesman told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the league will be reviewing the incident. And, as Garafolo reminds us, league precedent indicates spitting does merit a suspension.

Eagles DT Jalen Carter technically was not suspended for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the first regular season game of the 2025 slate. However, that was only because the incident took place immediately after the opening kickoff, and before Carter even played a snap (Carter was fined the amount of a full game check). Since the Chase-Ramsey incident transpired well into the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup, Chase could certainly be hit with a brief ban as well as a fine.

The spitting saga overshadowed the fact that the Steelers played half of the game without starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The soon-to-be 42-year-old sustained a left wrist injury late in the first half and did not return. Per Rapoport, Rodgers will undergo an evaluation on his wrist on Monday morning.

Backup Mason Rudolph completed 12 of 17 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Isaiah Hodgins is heading back in New York. The sixth-year receiver has worked out a deal to return to the Giants, as first reported by Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Hodgins has since confirmed the news (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). He had been on the Steelers’ practice squad, but he will now return to the Giants by joining their active roster. Today’s news comes one day after Lil’Jordan Humphrey departed New York’s taxi squad to return to the Broncos.

The Giants’ receiving corps has been without Malik Nabers since his ACL tear. As expected, the unit has struggled following that injury and Darius Slayton could now miss time with a hamstring ailment. This Hodgins reunion could thus result in immediate playing time.

The former Bills sixth-rounder only made three regular season appearances with Buffalo before finding himself in New York. Hodgins racked up 391 yards during his time with the Giants in 2022 before serving a regular role on offense once again the following year. 2024 was a different story, though, as the 27-year-old bounced on and off the Giants’ active roster while only playing three games.

At the end of the campaign, Hodgins signed a futures pact with the 49ers. That allowed him to spend training camp in San Francisco, although he did not survive final roster cuts. Hodgins joined the Steelers by inking a practice squad deal; after not seeing any game time in Pittsburgh, he will no look to do so in a familiar environment.

The Giants will begin the post-Brian Daboll era on Sunday against the Packers. It will be interesting to see if Hodgins suits up for that contest and in doing so logs a depth role on offense. Even if not, he could chip in over the closing weeks of the campaign and thus look to earn an extended stay in New York.

After winning the national championship in his lone season at Ohio State in 2024, quarterback Will Howard entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers last spring. Howard broke his hand early in training camp, though, forcing him to begin his career on injured reserve. After opening Howard’s 21-day practice window on Oct. 22, the Steelers activated the 24-year-old to their 53-man roster on Wednesday.

Taken 185th in the draft, Howard was always regarded as a developmental project for the Steelers. Even if he didn’t succumb to an injury over the summer, Howard was unlikely to see meaningful playing time this season.

Howard joined a team that brought in future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers as its new starter and the experienced Mason Rudolph as its primary backup during the offseason. Rodgers has stayed healthy during the Steelers’ 5-4 start, leaving just six snaps for Rudolph thus far.

The Steelers reportedly hope to retain Rodgers, who will turn 42 in December, next season. Rudolph is already under contract for 2026 after signing a two-year, $8MM deal. The Steelers will have plenty of time to figure out their QB setup for next year. In the meantime, they’ll get Howard back as an emergency third option.

As PFR’s IR tracker shows, Howard’s activation leaves the Steelers with five for the rest of the season. To make room for Howard, the Steelers waived running back Trey Sermon from their active roster. The former 49er, Eagle, and Colt signed a one-year pact with the Steelers last May. Sermon has appeared in four games this season, his fifth in the league, but 47 of his 48 snaps have come on special teams.