The Pittsburgh Steelers are planning on bringing back quarterback Mason Rudolph for a sixth season with the team.
Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN, Pittsburgh is expected to re-sign the 27-year-old, who will effectively serve as QB3 behind second-year starter Kenny Pickett and backup Mitchell Trubisky. A third-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State, Rudolph has started 10 games throughout his NFL career.
Eight of his starts came in 2019 filling in for the injured Ben Roethlisberger. He led the Steelers to a 5-3 record, throwing for 1,765 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 62.2% passing. Rudolph has featured sparingly in recent years, making zero appearances during the 2022 season.
Rudolph completed 26-of-36 passes for 220 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in his first two preseason appearances. Prior to the final preseason tilt, he expressed his displeasure with the lack of first-team reps leading up to the season.
“I thought I played well,” Rudolph said, via Yardbarker. “I think I’m going to have a chance to play in this league as a quarterback for a long time. I’m confident in that. I wanted more first-team reps, but anyone who is a competitor would. I think I got much better from last year throwing the ball, understanding [offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s] offense where you feel the most ready you’ve ever been. You feel like, hey, I should have more reps, but that’s not the hand I’ve been dealt.”
Steelers moving forward with Kenny Pickett in 2023
First-team snaps will once again be seldom this time around for Rudolph. Pickett, the 20th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Pitt, will be the man under center coming off an up and down rookie campaign.
He guided the Steelers to a 7-5 record in 13 starts. Pickett threw for 2,404 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions on 63.0% passing. He added 237 yards and three scores on the ground.
“It’s big,” Pickett recently said of his development this past season, via CBS Sports. “I felt like the offense started to become my own the more I was playing in it, taking real ownership of it instead of just kind of playing catch-up when I got thrown in there a little bit earlier and I was just worried about executing the plays. And now I felt like I had everything at my disposal when I was coming to the line of scrimmage.
“I think I made a good jump there in the learning curve. I want to make that leap into Year 2 now.”
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