It is fair to say that the Pittsburgh Steelers are not an impulsively run organization. They don’t often make knee-jerk decisions that greatly affect their future. In the assessment of many, that may occasionally be to their detriment.
I don’t think they can be reasonably accused of prematurely “giving up” on QB Mason Rudolph, whom they drafted in 2018 with aspirations of his succeeding Ben Roethlisberger as the face of the franchise. It didn’t help that the team struggled under his baton when thrust into the lineup in 2019 due to injury. Nor did it help that Roethlisberger played another four years.
But all the while, he’s never lost sight of his own goals. And he takes inspiration from a story like that of his opponent this week, Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith, who has been down a similar path as Rudolph and come out the other end.
“I think it’s an instant gratification league. I’ve got a lot of respect for Geno Smith”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “What a career, what an inspiration for a lot of guys and how he’s battled through and stayed aggressive and stayed confident and positive and he got his shot a couple years ago, and look what he’s done with it”.
A 2013 second-round pick by the New York Jets, it didn’t take too long for Smith to be declared a bust, the franchise moving on from him as a starter after two seasons. Rudolph was never handed a full-time starting job, a key difference in his story from Smith’s, but nevertheless, they’ve both spent time toiling in futility and irrelevance. He saw little more than 200 total snaps over a five-year period after first losing his starting job, finally earning another one just last year.
“I think definitely sometimes there’s a quick trigger, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t overcome and come back and make a resurgence”, Rudolph observed of Smith’s situation, one he hopes to echo in his own career.
“I am definitely aware of the adversity he’s fought through and overcome, as well as a lot of other players in the league who, maybe they don’t have initial success, but they find a way to overcome”, he said. “I think those are great, hopeful lessons to see and remind yourself of when you may not be in the position you want to be”.
One thing Rudolph has never done is hide the fact that he’s not where he wants to be. He’s made it very clear since he was drafted and never wavered. He wants to be a starting quarterback and believes he has the capability of doing it.
Last week was a nice little boost for his theory about himself, and he may get a chance to add to it this week assuming that he gets the start over an ailing Kenny Pickett. Two quality games won’t exactly guarantee him a Geno Smith situation in 2024, but perhaps at least teams will look at him as a relevant figure.
