Before there was Kenny Pickett, QB Mason Rudolph was once thought to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ next potential quarterback. And almost immediately after Rudolph became the team’s third-round pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, there was controversy. Reacting to the pick soon after, Ben Roethlisberger questioned the decision, wondering if that move was best for the team to win.
Streaming Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks for his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger brought up the situation again, repeating his concern while clarifying he never had an issue with Rudolph personally.
“I didn’t have an issue with Mason when he got drafted,” Roethlisberger told co-host Spence around halftime of the Steelers-Seahawks game. “I had more of an issue with the pick. We were a really good football team and he got drafted early. I just felt like we could have maybe picked a player who could have helped us in the moment.
“We were still a team that was competing. I was not worried about him taking my job, that was not an issue for me. I felt in the moment that we could have drafted a position, offense or defense, that could have helped us. Not a guy that was going to be a potential backup and maybe have the job in the future.”
That tracks with what Roethlisberger said in 2018. Pittsburgh was coming off an excellent regular season, a 13-3 finish that ended in disappointment after an upset loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round. Seemingly on the cusp of the Super Bowl, the Steelers added pieces on offense and defense with their first two selections, taking SS Terrell Edmunds in the first round and WR James Washington in the second. In the third round, they traded up to select Washington’s teammate in Rudolph, who had a prolific career at Oklahoma State. After the pick, GM Kevin Colbert noted the Steelers had a top grade on Rudolph.
Ultimately, Rudolph settled in as Roethlisberger’s backup and took over in the the 2019 season when Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury six quarters into the year. Though he says there was no issue with Rudolph, the relationship felt icy and over the summer, Rudolph acknowledged the two sides weren’t close.
Reflecting on that 2019 season, Roethlisberger on the sidelines for most of it, Roethlisberger said he offered a helping hand to Rudolph.
“When Mason played with me, I tried to help him as much as I could,” he said. “Then he didn’t want my help anymore so I backed off.”
Earlier in the week, Rudolph seemed to reference the Roethlisberger-led room, noting that the current group of Pickett and Mitch Trubisky was more cohesive and helpful than past ones he had been in. Roethlisberger expanded on what he meant by Rudolph breaking out.
“Then Duck [Hodges] came in. And Duck asked for my help so I helped as much as I could. I didn’t have an issue with Mason as a person…Mason used me the first game, and then he backed away and started doing his own thing and I was completely fine with that,” Roethlisberger said. “Duck stayed and maybe that’s why me and him have such a great relationship.”
After Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season, Rudolph remained with the Steelers, eventually falling to third-string on the depth chart. But with Pickett hurt and Trubisky struggling, Rudolph started last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, leading Pittsburgh to a big 34-11 victory. It earned him another start today against Seattle. During his previous Footbahlin episode, Roethlisberger endorsed Rudolph as the starter over Pickett, who is working his way back from his injury, and in today’s show, reiterated that Rudolph has been playing well. So far, Rudolph has been solid against the Seahawks, the Steelers leading late in the third quarter.
