Pittsburgh Steelers’ fifth-year quarterback Mason Rudolph is entering a critical stretch of his career, not only with the Steelers, but in the NFL overall.
Rudolph, who backed up Ben Roethlisberger for four seasons in the black and gold, finds himself in a three-way quarterback competition with Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett. Currently viewed as the odd man out, at least externally, Rudolph knows he’s a bit behind the eight ball right now.
That’s why, according to video via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski, Rudolph is attempting to block out the outside noise and really try and treat every single rep in training camp at Saint Vincent College like it’s his last, because realistically it could be for him with the black and gold.
“I’m already putting a lot of pressure on myself…and I think you’re always trying can out the outside noise, whether that’s from a coach, from the media, or the fans, so I’m gonna go out and treat every rep like it’s my last,” Rudolph said to the media Wednesday prior to the first practice at training camp, according to video via Adamski. “But I’m going to be excited about it, because we get to do this for a living. It’s incredible.”
Rudolph certainly has the right mindset heading into his fifth training camp with the Steelers. Currently, Rudolph is slotted in on the second team for the Steelers under second-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada, so reps will be relatively limited in training camp as is. Good news for Rudolph though is that he has the experience in training camp, especially at Saint Vincent College, and he has experience in Canada’s scheme, which Trubisky and Pickett don’t really have, outside of install sessions during OTAs and minicamp.
How Rudolph’s mindset and overall mentality heading into training camp helps him on the field remains to be seen, but he knows his back is against the wall and the cards are stacked against him in a QB competition. Never count out that cornered player though with much to lose. That’s what Rudolph’s banking on.
