In the final four games of the 2023 season — three regular season games and one playoff game — Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Mason Rudolph opened some eyes with his play.
Rudolph stepped into the lineup after sitting as the No. 3 quarterback for much of the last two seasons in Pittsburgh and was prepared, leading the Steelers to three straight wins down the stretch, turning in season-best performances offensively in two of the three matchups, helping the Steelers get into the playoffs.
Though Pittsburgh flamed out against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, the Steelers, head coach Mike Tomlin, and even teammates made it clear that they want Rudolph back in the Steel City moving forward.
On Monday, Steelers’ team president Art Rooney II reiterated that, stating that the Steelers want the veteran quarterback back in 2024, and added that he doesn’t know that the Steelers have seen the former third-round pick’s ceiling at the quarterback position just yet.
“I think Mason really…showed what we’re capable of on offense and the personnel we have here right now. So, that’s encouraging,” Rooney said of Rudolph, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “In terms of Mason’s ceiling…I don’t know that we’ve seen his ceiling yet. We drafted him high for a reason and felt he had a lot of ability, so I think we saw that.
“So, he’s probably gonna have some options, so it’s gonna be a question of whether he wants to come back and whether we can make a deal to get him back.”
It’s hard to say that the Steelers — or any team in the NFL — has seen Rudolph’s ceiling to this point. He’s started just 13 games in his career and has gone 8-4-1 in those games in the regular season, not to mention an appearance in the playoffs. He’s had his struggles at times, including in 2019 when he was forced into the lineup due to Ben Roethlisberger’s injury.
But since then, Rudolph has had his moments, especially late last season when he gave the Steelers’ offense a significant spark in the passing game, leading to two games of 30 or more points scored, something the Steelers hadn’t done in a game since Week 11 of the 2022 season. That’s quite a while.
What Rudolph’s ceiling is remains to be seen. Chances are, he’s not going to become a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. He was never that guy coming out of Oklahoma State. But he could be a very serviceable, consistent starter in the league, one that doesn’t make many mistakes, throws a great deep ball, and has a great pocket presence, hanging in to make tough plays.
The Steelers drafted him for a reason, and they were finally rewarded for it. Now, we’ll see if they can get him to stick around and have him reach his ceiling in Black and Gold instead of elsewhere.
