Free agency officially kicks off on Wednesday at 4 p.m, but legal tampering began on Monday. And, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph has garnered a ton of interest from teams across the league. This contradicts Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk’s report that Mason Rudolph wasn’t receiving any suitors.
“As the QB market takes shape over the next few days, indications are Mason Rudolph has interest from several teams. His play down the stretch for the #Steelers has clubs interested in him for a primary backup role,” Garafolo wrote on X.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reported that Rudolph’s camp met with the Steelers on Sunday, but obviously, with Russell Wilson joining the Steelers that shakes things up dramatically.
“Mason Rudolph’s people met with the Steelers today and we know how that went. Never say never but something crazy would have to happen for Rudolph to return to the Steelers,” Kaboly wrote on X.
Florio suggested that it could be a repeat of last year where Rudolph doesn’t receive any interest and comes back to the Steelers as the No. 3 quarterback. Have Rudolph’s strong play down the stretch last season, that seems hard to believe.
After Pickett was injured and Mitch Trubisky benched for ineffectiveness, Rudolph took the reins and didn’t give them back, leading the Steelers to three straight victories to close the 2023 season and lead the club back into the playoffs.
Mason Rudolph finished with a career-best 74.3% completion percentage and 118 passer rating in the regular season. His three-game stretch to close 2023 was the best such run for a Steelers quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan said recently at the 2024 NFL Combine that the Steelers are interested in bringing Rudolph back, but that he expected him to test the free agent market, as he has.
“I’ve been in communication with his representative and he knows we want him back,” Khan said. “We’ve told them we want him to be a part of this process. …
“He knows we want him back, we’ve had conversations. But it’s sort of just how the process goes. I can’t tell when the deal will get done, hopefully with us. But it’s just a process and I understand but we’d like to have him back.”
That was, of course, before the Steelers signed Wilson, a move that could relegate Rudolph to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart once again.
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