With the Steelers’ 2023 regular season underway following a disappointing year that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to start finding out whether or not the answers to last year’s questions are on the roster, tested all throughout training camp and the preseason.
Both sides of the ball got key additions through both free agency and the draft, with new starters, including potentially rookies, amounting to half a dozen or more. The offensive line, the linebackers, and the secondary were all key targets since last year. But what will they look like?
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: Mason Rudolph could salvage the Steelers’ postseason hopes.
Explanation: Although the Steelers are paying Mitch Trubisky well to be their backup quarterback, his play is more erratic than one would care for. His style of play and decision-making comes with a good deal of risk, which can get a team like the Steelers with a low margin for error into trouble. Mason Rudolph is well-versed in the system and knows how to run things while protecting the ball and making smarter decisions.
Buy:
Kenny Pickett is probably going to miss at least two more games, if not three, or even more. And Mitch Trubisky simply cannot be trusted to do the smart thing at the right time. Believe it or not, Mason Rudolph actually can.
You want a game manager? Rudolph can manage a game. Especially in Pittsburgh. He’s not a great quarterback but he can keep it moving, at least. He kept them competitive the last time they had a chance to start a game back in 2021, and that was on the fly after Ben Roethlisberger, if I recall correctly, contracted COVID-19. Even at the end of the game, it was the playmakers who failed him.
They have better talent since then. A better running game, better wide receivers, better tight ends. All they’ve needed all season is consistent competence under center. Rudolph is at least not incompetent.
Sell:
But he also hasn’t played a game of football in about two years. He has hardly practiced since August, because the third-string quarterback doesn’t get reps. And he has looked no better than any of the other quarterbacks since we last saw him in a competitive setting that counted.
The truth is that the next man up is always the most popular when the man in front of him is struggling. That doesn’t make him any better than he is, it just means the man in front of him is not good enough. The Steelers simply do not have a quarterback good enough to get them to the playoffs. Maybe the defense can save them with timely splash plays. That’s what they have to bank on. It doesn’t even matter which one of them is under center at this point.
