The Pittsburgh Steelers have a quarterback dilemma on their hands. Mason Rudolph leapfrogged Mitch Trubisky as the starting quarterback while Kenny Pickett works his way back from injury. Rudolph led the Steelers to their best offensive performance of the year as they put up 24 points in the first half on their way to a 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in what was essentially a playoff game for both teams.
Head coach Mike Tomlin told the media during his Tuesday press conference that Rudolph is scheduled to be the starter again with the caveat that the Steelers will continue to evaluate Pickett’s health. Pickett suffered his high ankle sprain injury on Dec. 3, so it has been 25 days since the injury and 24 days since the surgery to help speed up the recovery. By the time the game is played on Sunday, it will have been 28 days since the injury. Pickett suffered the same injury and had the same procedure in college and was playing 28 days later, so it is very realistic that he could be available for this Week 17 road game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Therein lies the dilemma. Do you ride the hot hand of Rudolph, or stick to the unwritten rule of a starter not losing his job to injury? The curveball in this scenario is that Tomlin could realistically get away with blaming the injury to save face and ride with Rudolph for this game. Former NFL head coach Chuck Pagano appeared on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and they discussed these topics.
“It’s one game, I mean [we’re] ready to put him in the Hall,” Pagano said of Rudolph in a segment posted by Pat McAfee on X. “Let him go out there and start in that damn chaotic atmosphere in Seattle.”
As Pagano alluded to, Rudolph’s successful start was at home against a very familiar opponent. He had a lot of help from a defense that forced three interceptions and some of his success came from yards after the catch generated by WR George Pickens. This week could be a different story with an unfamiliar opponent all the way on the West Coast in one of the most hostile stadiums in the league.
“Their biggest problem is gonna be this: Kenny’s pissed, right? Don’t ask me that frickin question, ever again,” Pagano said of Pickett being asked if he has learned anything on the sideline since he’s been out. “If he’s healthy, you can’t lose your job because of injury.”
Tomlin does tend to stick to that rule, but he has the option of using the injury as an out for this week. Next week that won’t work, so if Rudolph performs well again there will be a serious controversy in Pittsburgh—one that could alter the future of the Steelers’ quarterback position.
