Come Saturday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to start their third different quarterback of the season. Mason Rudolph is in line to get the nod over Mitch Trubisky, as confirmed by Mike Tomlin yesterday and the team’s updated depth chart today. Barring QB Kenny Pickett healing quickly enough to start, Rudolph will be in the starting lineup for the first time since the 2021 season.
One of the longest-tenured players on the Steelers, Rudolph has the confidence of the guys he’ll be throwing to. Like Diontae Johnson, who praised Rudolph during a Tuesday presser with the media.
“We’ve been here together since I came in,” Johnson said as tweeted by The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “He’s a year ahead of me. He brings that grit that he’s not going to give up. He’s going to come in, do his job at 100 percent. I have full confidence in Mason that he’s going to come in and do his job and get everybody involved.”
Rudolph is tied with RT Chukwuma Okorafor for the longest-tenured players on the Steelers’ offense, both drafted in 2018. Incredibly, Rudolph is one of the most veteran players on the team. The only other players who have been in Pittsburgh longer are OLB T.J. Watt, DT Cam Heyward, and K Chris Boswell.
But most of Rudolph’s career, unlike those four other players, has been spent on the bench. His last start came in Week 10 of the 2021 season, an emergency showing against the Detroit Lions. Just 24 hours before kickoff, Rudolph went from backup to starter after Ben Roethlisberger tested for COVID, shelving him for the game. His last start on a “normal” schedule of practice reps came for the 2020 regular-season finale, a game in which the Steelers rested key starters.
He and Johnson played together in 2019 after Roethlisberger was lost for the season. They showed a connection, including this touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals, that hopefully holds true for this weekend.
While Rudolph is hardly a long-term option, he could provide a short-term boost. Trubisky has proven to be turnover-prone and reckless with the football while struggling to run the offense as it’s called, always looking for the big play instead of taking what’s there. Rudolph has a live arm and solid downfield accuracy but he’s also smarter with the football.
His goal will be to get the likes of Johnson and WR George Pickens involved. While Johnson has scored in three-straight games (after going all of 2022 without a touchdown), neither he nor Pickens has truly had a “big” game in weeks. The last that arguably qualifies was Johnson against the Tennessee Titans in Week Nine, catching seven passes for 90 yards and the go-ahead score, breaking his touchdown drought. Pickens last came up large in Week Seven, going for five grabs and 107 yards in a win over the Los Angeles Rams. And it’s been more than two years since a Steeler caught two touchdown passes in a game, Johnson doing so in December 2021 when Roethlisberger was still quarterbacking the team.
Johnson’s vote of confidence is good to hear but for a Steelers team on a three-game losing streak, results are all that matters. Someone has to show they can get the job done. Hopefully for this weekend that man is Rudolph.
