The Pittsburgh Steelers ruled out QB Kenny Pickett on Thursday after practice, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN. In Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts, Mitch Trubisky was pulled in favor of Mason Rudolph with just over two minutes remaining in the game. That trend continued with the Steelers updating their depth chart early in the week to reflect Rudolph as the primary backup.
Former Steelers DL Chris Hoke joined 93.7 The Fan’s The Cook & Joe show on Thursday morning and discussed what Rudolph can bring to the offense.
“I think Mason can give a boost to this offense,” said Hoke. “He’s a pure passer. He’s got a deficiency here, he’s got a deficiency there, but every single quarterback on this roster has deficiencies right now. So why not give him a chance and see if he can ignite this offense and put some points on the board?”
Pickett has been out for the past two games with a high ankle sprain that required surgery to accelerate the healing process. Rudolph only got one drive in the loss to the Colts on Saturday, and he completed two of his three passes. His record as a starter with the Steelers, in 10 games, is 5-4-1. All five of those wins came in 2019 when Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season early due to an elbow issue. Rudolph has only started two games since then, going 0-1-1. That being said, he did have four games in 2019 with two touchdown passes, something the Steelers have struggled to get out of their quarterbacks lately. Those games came in just his second season in the league.
“I think he’ll have [a] multiple-touchdown game,” Hoke predicted. “I think that you’ll see him, if he starts and he plays the whole game, I think he’ll throw over 250 [yards]. This guy’s a quarterback. He’s a thrower. That’s what he does. I think he’s gonna have a good game.”
He is predicting Rudolph to do something that no Steelers quarterback has done this season—throw for over 250 yards and two touchdowns. Hoke likes the way Rudolph has shown up to work every day despite being bumped to third string on the depth chart and moving backwards in his career.
“Mason has passed the test every single time,” Hoke said. “He’s been a pro’s pro.”
The Steelers will be relying on his professionalism and preparedness in a big game that, if lost, will likely spell the end of their season.
