It was quite the shock when veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph, who spent nearly the entire 2022 season inactive behind Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, decided to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal in mid-May.
Though there is no real path to playing time for Rudolph as he’s firmly entrenched as No. 3 quarterback in Pittsburgh behind Pickett and Trubisky in that order, the decision to re-sign in Pittsburgh had more to do with the guys in that quarterback room than it did any path to playing time or any opportunities elsewhere.
Speaking with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Tim Benz for a recent podcast interview on “Breakfast with Benz” Rudolph stated that the quarterback room in 2022 in Pittsburgh was the “most fun” he’s had in his career.
“Yeah, it’s probably the most fun I had in the quarterback room thus far in my career last year,” Rudolph said to Benz, according to audio via the podcast. “Just get along well so yeah, that was a factor. Obviously, knowing the offense, just the comfortability of this place. … I think anytime wouldn’t you want to go to work with somebody that you enjoy spending time with? I think we all would. So that played into it.”
While Rudolph knew that if he re-signed in Pittsburgh the only way he’d see the field was due to injury, that chance to continue spending time in the quarterback room with Pickett and Trubisky played a major factor, helping him decide to take the one-year offer that remained on the table, keeping him in Pittsburgh for a sixth season.
That relationship in the quarterback room isn’t just noise, either. The guys all genuinely respect and appreciate each other. As Mike Tomlin likes to say: each one, teach one. They all work together for the common goal of winning, and they all support each other as best as they can on a daily basis.
Even while going through major changes last season that saw Rudolph demoted to third string and then Pickett eventually take over for Trubisky, the quarterback room dynamic remained strong in Pittsburgh. That’s continued this offseason, too.
Pickett and Trubisky have a great relationship, and it appears that Rudolph is right there with them. That’s a far cry from when Ben Roethlisberger was in the quarterback room with Rudolph, who said this summer that the two didn’t really have a relationship. That showed on the field, too, when Roethlisberger would go to third-string quarterback Joshua Dobbs to see what he was seeing, rather than Rudolph, who was dressed as the backup.
A third-round pick whom Pittsburgh traded up for in the 2018 NFL Draft, Rudolph has appeared in 17 games for the Steelers, starting 10, and posting a 5-4-1 record. Most of that playing time came in 2019 following Roethlisberger’s season-ending elbow injury. In his second year at the time, Rudolph predictably struggled, and his year was remembered for the hits he took from Earl Thomas and Myles Garrett more than anything else.
For his career, Rudolph has completed 61.5 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
With the veteran back in the fold, the dynamic in the quarterback room remains quite strong. That’s huge at the most important position in sports. Having guys that enjoy working together, pushing each other in a healthy fashion and coming together for the greater good of the team is fantastic to see.
Hopefully Rudolph, Trubisky and Pickett can have another fun year together, this time with more winning on the field.
