One of the principal tasks this offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers is to begin untangling the quarterback conundrum. As in, figure out whether you have a decent starting quarterback in the first place. Under contract is Kenny Pickett, but the Steelers would need to re-sign Mason Rudolph, as Mike Tomlin wants.
But while Rudolph’s entry into the starting lineup coincided with an improvement in the offense, not everybody is convinced. Convinced, that is, that he is suddenly the answer hiding under the Steelers’ nose for half a decade. Call Aditi Kinkhabwala one of the skeptics.
“For everybody who sits here and thinks that Mason Rudolph is Geno Smith, he just needed time and is suddenly going to be something, there’s plenty of other people that said, ‘Okay, Mason Rudolph had plenty of time to show who he is, and you know who he is at this point’”, she said on 93.7 The Fan recently.
In three-plus starts during the regular season in 2023, Rudolph went 55-for-74 passing for 719 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 9.7 yards per pass attempt and did not throw an interception. He finished the Wild Card loss 22-for-39 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
A third-round draft pick in 2018, Rudolph was the potential heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers disclosed that they had a first-round grade on him before trading up to get him. But they added a veteran free agent and drafted Pickett in the first round once Roethlisberger retired.
“All due respect to Mason Rudolph…but do we really think that Mason Rudolph is on the cusp of becoming an NFL MVP and Super Bowl-winning quarterback?”, Kinkhabwala added. She also agreed with her hosts that you do need to think about how re-signing him would impact Pickett if you are committed to him.
Smith emerged as a starting quarterback in his 10th NFL season in 2022 with the Seattle Seahawks. Originally drafted in the second round in 2013 by the Jets, he lost his starting job by 2015. He became a journeyman after that before arriving in Seattle, spending two seasons as Russell Wilson’s backup. He took over the starting role after the Seahawks traded Wilson.
Over the past two seasons, Smith has a 17-15 record with one postseason appearance. He is 722-1071 passing for 7,906 yards with 50 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He also has 521 rushing yards with two touchdowns, but also 13 fumbles.
Even if Rudolph were another Geno Smith, I’m not quite sure how remarkable that is. They only beat two teams with winning records in 2023, including a Cleveland Browns team with P.J. Walker at quarterback. Smith and the Seahawks did score an early overtime win over the Detroit Lions.
