The Steelers are down to their third-string quarterback, and their fourth-string quarterback will soon get a promotion.
After Mason Rudolph‘s concussion on Sunday, and with Ben Roethlisberger already out for the season, Devlin Hodges is likely to start this week and Paxton Lynch is likely to be promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster as Hodges’ backup, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.
Hodges played well under the circumstances after Rudolph went down: He completed seven of nine passes for 68 yards and didn’t have a turnover or take a sack. He’s an undrafted rookie, so the Steelers obviously weren’t planning on having him start this year, but when you’d down to your third-string quarterback, beggars can’t be choosers.
Lynch is a former first-round pick of the Broncos who started four games in Denver and didn’t play well. He hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game since 2017. The Steelers actually have two quarterbacks on their practice squad, Lynch and Taryn Christion, but Lynch’s experience makes him the likely pick to get called up to the active roster.
There’s been no word on when Rudolph might return, but until he does, it looks like a depth chart of Hodges and Lynch.