Pittsburg, PA
Mason Rudolph’s Fate With Steelers Could Now Be Sealed
Aaron Rodgers’ return to the Pittsburgh Steelers has potential ramifications up and down the team’s depth chart at quarterback.
Will Howard and Drew Allar, who otherwise would have earned a shot at winning the starting job had Rodgers not re-signed with the Steelers, will now battle it out for the backup role.
Because Allar is a lock to make the 53-man roster alongside Rodgers while Howard isn’t particularly likely to be traded or released either, Mason Rudolph is in a position where he may have no path forward in Pittsburgh and thus is the clear odd man out at this stage of the offseason.
Rudolph’s Fate with Steelers Could Be Sealed
It’s going to take a huge upset for Rudolph to lock up a 53-man roster spot over Howard by the time final roster cuts arrive in late August following the conclusion of the preseason.
Pittsburgh knows what it has in Rudolph; he’s a high-floor, incredibly low-ceiling No. 2 quarterback with 34 games and 19 starts of NFL experience under his belt that head coach Mike McCarthy can trust to run the offense if Rodgers is banged up and has to miss any time.
A quality backup is super valuable to any roster, but signal callers like Rudolph who are game-managers with little to no mobility and a lack of arm talent are a dime a dozen.
Having to part ways with Rudolph isn’t going to dictate the outcome of the Steelers’ 2026 campaign regardless of what transpires.
For that reason, it would be hard for Pittsburgh to rationalize keeping him around based on the merit of Rudolph being a veteran and a proven NFL-level quarterback over Howard.
While in theory Allar’s presence and potential makes Howard more expendable than he previously had been in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, the Steelers would be foolish to move on from the latter unless he shows zero promise of ever developing into a rosterable player.
On that same note, if Pittsburgh comes to the conclusion that Howard cannot at least hold down the emergency No. 3 quarterback role, than what was the point of talking him up so heavily throughout the offseason?
It’s nearly a guarantee that an opportunity or two will open up for Rudolph elsewhere around the league during training camp and the preseason due to injury. With zero upside for the Steelers and $3 million in cap savings should be traded or even cut in a worst-case scenario, Rudolph could very well find himself on the way out of town this summer.
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Pittsburgh voted best Fourth of July celebration in America
In 2026, Pittsburgh gets the bragging rights for the nation’s Best Fourth of July Celebration, as determined by voters in USA Today 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards.
Pittsburgh has long been known for its connections to horror films starting with George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968.
Now, in honor of that designation and the legacy of Romero, who died in 2016, the Pittsburgh Film Festival has announced it is introducing a new award this year.
The inaugural Romero Awardfor Best Horror Feature will be presented at the 45th annual Three Rivers Film Festival, scheduled to run from Nov. 4-15, according to the group’s website. Presented with support from the George A. Romero Foundation, the award will be selected by a panel of industry judges.
Named in honor of Romero, the award celebrates bold, visionary work in the horror genre. As the birthplace of Night of the Living Dead, Pittsburgh remains a vital home for horror storytelling, making the Romero Award a natural addition to the festival’s juried honors, the group said.
“The GARF is devoted to preserving Romero’s legacy and continues to support creatives and independent filmmaking in genres and horror spaces,” Suzanne Romero, George’s widow and founder and president of the George A. Romero Foundation, said recently. She died June 24 at her home in Toronto after a long illness.
Film Pittsburgh’s executive director, Shanna Carrick, added, “We are proud to partner with the GARF to introduce an international competition for best independent horror film. Pittsburgh has a deep love of horror films and we believe that our audiences will be thrilled to experience new voices in the genre.”
The festival is currently accepting submissions, with the full lineup to be announced in October.
The festival will also continue to celebrate its horror offerings with its beloved Chiller Theater, named in honor of the late Pittsburgh horror show host Chilly Billy Cardille. The spooky showcase features the best new independent horror shorts from around the globe and Allegheny County.
The Cincinnati Reds are in a rain delay for the second consecutive day. Saturday’s rain delay came before the game even started. Sunday’s rain delay occurred in the bottom of the 8th inning.
“The tarp is on the field, and we are in a delay here at PNC,” the Pirates official account posted on X. “We’ll update when we have info.”
Update: The grounds crew is taking the tarp off the field and the game is expected to resume around 5:20 ET.
The Pittsburgh Pirates lead the Reds 5-4 in the 8th.
Let’s take a look at how we got there.
Game Recap
In the second inning, Esmerlyn Valdez hit a ground-rule double off Reds starting pitcher Brady Singer that scored Nick Gonzalez, giving the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.
Later in the inning, former Red Tyler Callihan hit his third home run of the year, giving Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead.
However, in the fourth, the Reds would battle back. After Elly De La Cruz reached on an error and Sal Stewart singled, JJ Bleday added a single of his own that would score both, making it a 4-2 Pittsburgh advantage.
The Reds continued to rally in the fifth. After Noelvi Marte walked, Tyler Stephenson stayed hot with an RBI double to left field, getting the Reds back within a run.
Edwin Arroyo followed with an RBI single of his own that tied the game at 4.
The Pirates got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth when Ryan O’Hearn hit his 12th home run of the season. That would be it for Singer, who gave up five runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.
The Pirates had a big opportunity to break the game wide open in the seventh when Zach McCambley walked the bases loaded. Reds manager Terry Francona brought in Brock Burke, who was miraculously able to get out of the jam with a pop-up and an inning-ending double play.
The Reds had a big chance to tie the game in the 8th when they had runners on first and second with nobody out. However, Nathaniel Lowe popped out, Spencer Steer flew out, and Noelvi Marte grounded out to end the threat.
Pierce Johnson was set to come in the game for the Reds when the game entered a rain delay.
We will provide an update as we know more.
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