The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially moved on from their top three quarterbacks from the last two seasons. It started when Omar Khan cut Mitch Trubisky on Feb. 12, and it continued when the Steelers elected to sign Russell Wilson. Mike Tomlin publicly stated there would be a quarterback competition, but reportedly privately advised Kenny Pickett that Wilson would start the process with the first string. Pickett did not like that, so Khan and Tomlin sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles and promptly traded with the Chicago Bears to replace him with Justin Fields.
Before Pickett was traded, Mason Rudolph signed a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans to compete with Malik Willis for the right to back up Will Levis. Rudolph has fans who cannot accept that he is no longer in Pittsburgh. It is just the latest gripe of the Rudolph fan club, who have been complaining that the former third-round draft pick never got a fair shake from the Steelers during his time in Pittsburgh since he got an opportunity to replace Ben Roethlisberger during the 2019 season.
The president of the Rudolph fan club, Mark Kaboly from The Athletic, was excoriated by Adam Crowley on Tuesday's "The Fan Morning Show" on 93.7 KDKA FM. Crowley roared his disapproval over Kaboly's take that the Steelers' quarterback room was not as well off without Rudolph as they were with him to his co-host Dorin Dickerson. He also voiced his displeasure on X.
Crowley made a fair point that retaining Rudolph, as opposed to the recently acquired Kyle Allen as Pittsburgh's potential third-string quarterback, was the key factor in determining the success of the 2024 roster. Kaboly tried to save face by replying to Crowley's post.
Those who advocate for Rudolph, like Kaboly, fail to understand a basic fact. Right or wrong, the Steelers and Tomlin did not want to be in the Rudolph business. Pittsburgh turned to him out of desperation after burying him on the depth chart in 2022 and signing him to a minimum contract to be the emergency option in 2023. When he got his chance, he performed admirably and earned north of a 350% raise in free agency. He also opened Tomlin's eyes to Pickett's limitations in the process.
That should be seen as a win for both sides, but it isn't. Crowley was incredulous that the veteran Steelers beat writer and frequent guest on "The Pat McAfee Show" looked past the top two spots on the depth chart and was basing his analysis on the quarterback room's overall strength. "The Fan Morning Show" host could not understand why Kaboly would not concede the point and doubled down.
Kaboly is taking his lumps on X for what amounts to a hot take in support of Rudolph. Objectively, Wilson, even at 35, is better than Pickett was in 2023. It could be argued that Fields was better than Pickett. But if you limit it to Fields versus Trubisky, he wins the battle of former Bears quarterbacks by a wide margin.
Steelers' new third-string quarterback Kyle Allen compares favorably to Mason Rudolph
The gap is so substantial at the top of the depth chart that Rudolph would have to outpace Allen by an extensive margin to balance the scales in Kaboly's favor. He doesn't. Allen has started 19 games in the NFL, thrown 26 touchdowns and passed for over 4,700 yards. Rudolph has started 13 games during his career and has thrown 19 touchdown passes for just over 3,000 yards.
It is conceivable that he would pass Allen's numbers in six more starts, but it would not be a substantial difference. Rudolph delivered a lasting positive memory for the Steelers with a three-game winning streak that resurrected the 2023 season and got them back to the playoffs.
Kaboly and the legions of Rudolph fans should be happy he is getting a chance to earn a more significant role in Tennessee. It was never going to happen in Pittsburgh.
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