Mike Tomlin has ruled out Aaron Rodgers, confirming that Mason Rudolph will be the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ starting quarterback against the Chicago Bears today in Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season.
Tomlin confirmed the decision to Evan Washburn of CBS Sports as the Steelers waited until the last second to see whether Rodgers was cleared to play. But in the end, it’s Rudolph leading the Steelers’ offense in Chicago this time.
“He fought his tail off all week. That’s the prudent play to make for us as a collective. We’ll let Mason start. He’s absorbed most of the reps this week,” Tomlin explained during his pregame conversation with Washburn.
Why is Rodgers not playing in Chicago today?
Rodgers is missing today’s game in Chicago after suffering an injury in his left wrist last time out, during the Steelers‘ 34-12 win over division rivals Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh.
The 4x NFL MVP sustained a small fracture, and even though it was in his non-throwing hand, it forced him to miss practices in the week leading to the Bears game. Therefore, Tomlin ultimately opted to let Rodgers heal and play Rudolph instead.
What’s Mason Rudolph’s record as a starting QB?
In 18 NFL starts, Rudolph has a 9-8-1 record. Most of them came with the Steelers, having led Tomlin’s offense for 13 games with an 8-4-1 record. Rudolph also had a brief experience as starting quarterback for the Tennesee Titans in 2024, going 1-4.