The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Could Mason Rudolph start next week if he has a strong game?
Now that we know it will indeed be Mason Rudolph’s time to start on Saturday, the question is, will it be just a one-game affair? Especially if the Steelers’ playoff hopes look even bleaker after this game, could the team decide to keep on with him for at least one more game?
Kenny Pickett is not even three weeks removed from his ankle injury, which was surgically repaired. It would have been extremely optimistic for him to return to play this early, but his practicing this past week seemed to leave the door open.
The fact that head coach Mike Tomlin decided to rule him out in spite of his ability to practice struck me as significant. It tells me that they’re not interested in rushing him back, and they shouldn’t be. The only real reason for him to play again this year would be to get one last look at him before changing his coordinator.
But let’s say Rudolph steps in and plays well, maybe even wins the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. In theory, there’s no reason to think that he isn’t better than Jake Browning on the other side. He wins, but Pittsburgh doesn’t get much help elsewhere. Pickett still isn’t 100 percent next week.
Do they keep playing Rudolph for at least another week under those circumstances? It wouldn’t exactly be a quarterback controversy. But it would perhaps be an admission of defeat. Tomlin has only faced one meaningless game in his first 16 years, at the end of the 2013 season. He could be looking to add to that total now.
