If there’s one word I would use to sum up the Steelers’ last few weeks, it would be soulless. This team just does not look like they want to be out there playing football right now. The “Steeler Way” has been under fire, George Pickens looks like he’d rather be taking calculus than blocking for Jaylen Warren; it’s just a disaster.
While any realistic hopes of competing in 2023 seem to be dead and gone, the franchise, in general, is still in desperate need of a spark down the stretch of this season. Take the Patriots, for example, who have had an awful season. They at least got a great half from Bailey Zappe against the Steelers and could delude themselves into thinking they were watching a decent football team.
The Steelers haven’t had that recently. And now it looks to be up to Mason Rudolph, at least this week, to provide them with it. And at least based on what players are saying in the locker room, via a tweet from Ashley Kaiser from JET24 Action Sports, they seem to have some faith in him.
“Mason’s been awesome.” Pat Freiermuth said. “He comes in every single day with a smile on his face and ready to work, and I can’t say enough great things about him, and I’m excited to see what he does.
“Mason’s a great leader, a great guy, on and off the field.” Elandon Roberts noted. “I think with his opportunity that he’ll put his best foot forward to put, not just the offense, but our team in a great position.”
Mason has had a bit of an interesting career for the Steelers, starting in eight games his second season due to the Ben Roethlisberger injury, and slowly moving down the depth chart ever since. However, when he’s started, he certainly hasn’t been bad, compiling a 5-4-1 record and some decent counting stats. Some questioned why he didn’t seek a team where he could be the number two guy in the offseason, though it’s unclear if such an opportunity existed.
Instead, he returned to Pittsburgh as the number three option, but according to Joey Porter Jr., that never affected his approach.
“He always has the same attitude every time he walks in the building, no matter where he’s at in the depth chart,” Porter noted. “We all got trust in him no matter what. He’s a part of the team, so I’m rocking with him whenever.”
While it’s never ideal for a team to start their third quarterback, at least the Steelers have a guy who has some experience with the team and respect in the locker room. Expectations are low for this team right now, so any good game they play over the last three weeks of the season will be deemed a happy surprise.
