Pittsburgh Steelers prepares to make long-awaited star who have been sidelined.
As the newly installed quarterback of a team trying to break a three-game losing streak and get back into the AFC playoff race, Mason Rudolph had reason for optimism when he walked through the Pittsburgh Steelers practice complex Tuesday.
One look at his face told the story.
“I’ve smiled a few times today,” Rudolph said Tuesday after practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken reps in a walk-through and been the guy.”
It’s been more than two years since Rudolph started a game for the Steelers. For the first time since November 2021, he will be under center Saturday when the Steelers face the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
It will reward the patience Rudolph has displayed since he was demoted to third string in the 2022 training camp, a role he largely maintained until Kenny Pickett suffered an ankle injury that required “tightrope” surgery two weeks ago.
After Mitch Trubisky couldn’t gain any consistency running the offense the past two games, coach Mike Tomlin made the switch to Rudolph late in the fourth quarter of a 30-13 loss Saturday at Indianapolis. And he will turn to the six-year veteran to make his 11th career start, but just third since the 2019 season, when the Steelers put their 7-7 record on the line against the resurgent 8-6 Bengals.
“As a third-string quarterback, you feel like, are you really earning your paycheck week to week?” Rudolph said. “I get to finally earn it this week.”
The caveat is Rudolph will start only if Pickett doesn’t make an unexpected quick recovery from surgery. Pickett was listed as a limited participant in practice Tuesday, but the sight of him taking snaps and throwing passes in individual drills is enough to keep Rudolph grounded in realism.
It was just two years ago Rudolph was in a similar situation. After being a last-minute replacement for Ben Roethlisberger, who entered covid-19 protocol less than 24 hours before a game against Detroit, Rudolph spent all of the following week taking the first-team snaps. But Roethlisberger was cleared to play on the eve of the next game, and that bumped Rudolph from a start against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“That’s out of my control,” Rudolph said. “I’m going to take the reps I’m given and do the best with them. As far as I know, I’m playing, and that’s how I’m treating it. I’ll try to maximize each day of practice, each rep and get back into a flow with the guys.”
Tomlin inserted Rudolph for the final two series against the Colts so he could shake off some rust that has built up since his last game experience in preseason. Rudolph, though, attempted just three passes.
“You can’t replicate game reps,” he said. “I understand that, but the way I try to prepare myself each week, the practice reps, stuff after and before games, taking care of my body — I try to get myself ready and cut down on the learning curve.”
Rudolph believes he is a better quarterback than the one in 2019 who was forced into a starting role after Roethlisberger injured his right elbow and missed the final 14 games of the season. Those eight starts and 10 appearances represented his first taste of NFL experience.
In his third start, Rudolph suffered a concussion against Baltimore, and he infamously was on the receiving end of the Myles Garrett helmet swing a few weeks later. He lost his starting job to “Duck” Hodges but was on the verge of reclaiming it late that season when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
“We’ve all had adversity,” Rudolph said. “I’ve had my fair share. It’s made me better. It has made me a better person. I think about some of the things that happened in ’19. Quite a lot. I’m grateful for that. It made me a better man, a better leader and it makes you battle tested.”
Which makes Rudolph embrace the chance to make one more start for the Steelers.
“I don’t feel any (pressure),” he said. “We feel a sense of urgency. Coach Tomlin challenged the whole offense and the passing game to make improvements, the offense as a whole to score more points. That falls heavily upon the quarterback to be the catalyst for that.”
