As teams prepare to unveil their rosters of 53 players, several teams would like Mason Rudolph to be part of that equation. The Steelers have received trade calls for Rudolph, but have been reluctant to deal with him at this stage, according to NFL Media.
The Steelers’ longest-serving quarterback, Rudolph was 26 of 39 for 220 yards with two touchdowns this preseason while playing off Pittsburgh’s second- and third-team offenses. The fifth-year veteran and former third-round pick holds a 5-4-1 regular-season record as a starting quarterback for Pittsburgh. He started the summer as the Steelers’ No. 2 quarterback behind Mitchell Trubisky, but has since trailed rookie Kenny Pickett in the pecking order.
While the Steelers quarterback competition was billed as a three-way race, it appeared the job was up for grabs for Trubisky after Pittsburgh signed him to a two-year contract at the start of free agency. Rudolph’s chances of being Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement dipped further after the team selected Pickett with the 20th overall pick in the April draft.
Rudolph received little work with Pittsburgh’s first-team offense during the latter stages of training camp. He relieved Trubisky in the Steelers’ preseason opener (throwing a touchdown pass to rookie George Pickens on his third play from scrimmage), then played behind Trubisky and Pickett against the Jaguars. Rudolph attempted just three assists in Pittsburgh’s preseason finale, a 19-9 win over the Lions.
The 76th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Rudolph arrived in Pittsburgh after starting three years at Oklahoma State, where he threw for 92 touchdowns to 26 interceptions. He threw for nearly 5,000 yards as a senior while throwing for 37 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. Rudolph’s favorite college target was James Washington, who was also a member of the Steelers rookie class in 2018.
Rudolph and Washington enjoyed a fruitful partnership in 2019, helping the Steelers start 8-5 despite losing Roethlisberger to a season-ending injury in Week 2. A concussion suffered against the Ravens, however , seemed to have lingering effects on Rudolph. , who eventually lost his starting position to Devlin Hodges late in the season. Rudolph still managed to go 5-3 this season as the Steelers finished with an 8-8 overall record.
Rudolph has started just one game in each of the last two seasons. He threw for 315 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 24-22 loss to the Browns in the final week of the 2020 season. Although he was impressive in that game, Rudolph was not at his best in his last start, a 16-16 draw against the Lions in Week 10 of the 2021 season.