At this point, it’s not even much of a take anymore. It’s the obvious, it’s expected, it’s what Mike Tomlin is probably going to say later on today during his Monday press conference (bumped up a day due to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Saturday finale).
Mason Rudolph is your starting quarterback. For the rest of the season.
For 2024? We’ll talk about it later. Trust me, there’s plenty of time to discuss the future. For the here and now, Rudolph is the guy. He’s done more in two games as the Steelers’ starter than any Pittsburgh quarterback has in the last two years. Football is a bottom-line business. And Rudolph is producing bottom-line results. Points, yards, and wins. That’s what the Steelers have been dying on the vine for. That’s what they’re finally getting.
In his two starts, Pittsburgh’s racked up a total of:
– 64 points
– 865 yards
– Ten red zone trips (25 percent of their season total)
– 68.6 completion percentage
– Seven total offensive touchdowns
– Zero turnovers
– 2-0 record
That’s a resume you don’t turn away. You don’t turn to the locker room and go “we’re going with someone else” even if that someone else is Kenny Pickett, former first round pick and franchise (?) guy.
Pittsburgh’s in win-now mode. They still need help to get into the playoffs but they have a clear and realistic path to the postseason. In its simplest form, all the Steelers have to do is beat the Ravens on Saturday and then have the Buffalo Bills or the Jacksonville Jaguars lose on Sunday. So all that matters is today. And Rudolph is the answer.
He’s playing from the pocket. He’s going through his reads, standing tall against pressure, and finishing drives off. He’s getting George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, who have a combined 17 receptions, 417 yards, and two touchdowns in the two games Rudolph’s started. He’s walked the line between pushing the ball and playing it smart. He’s chucked it deep against 1-on-1 matchups and he’s thrown the ball out of the end zone on third and goal late in yesterday’s win, kicking the field goal to go up 30-20 instead of trying to pressure the issue.
It’s not to say he’s been perfect. Rudolph has made his mistakes. He missed Johnson on a slot fade touchdown against the Bengals. Just flat out a bad ball. His overall play was worse against the Seahawks and his receivers made some tough grabs, Johnson catching an over route above his head and Pickens making a full-extension grab on third down in the second half. But Rudolph is making up for those more minor gripes with steady quarterback play and production.
There is a level of hypocrisy to criticize Mitch Trubisky for his fourth down deep shot to Diontae Johnson against the New England Patriots and praise Rudolph for his possession down aggressiveness, showing it in both games, including a fourth down miss versus Seattle (neither came in win-or-lose moments like Trubisky’s, to be clear and fair). But the difference is Rudolph has hit enough of them and when he’s missed, has made up for it at other points with production.
Having a strong running game has been an asset, something Trubisky and for about half the season, Pickett didn’t have, but Rudolph’s tape is just better. It’s good. And he’s the starter Saturday against Baltimore and for any and all playoff games Pittsburgh suits up for.
Next season? It might get messy. Is Rudolph something more than a career-backup? The position does offer flashes in the pan and his sample size remains small. And it’s hard to think Rudolph is going to be the guy who can allow Pittsburgh to make a serious playoff run long-term against the top AFC quarterbacks. When it comes to Kenny Pickett, his future is a cloudy mess. He’s definitely not happy he isn’t starting, I’m sure he feels like the rug’s been pulled out from under him. None of that matters in the moment, winning is the only consideration, but it is going to be something for Pittsburgh to deal with. Maybe this “moving on” from Pickett for the year will give the team permission to truly evaluate the position of the future and explore a long-term option.
Then there’s Rudolph’s future, a pending free agent who is earning literal millions of dollars with every strong start he has. If he ends up winning Pittsburgh a playoff game, we’re talking about a guy going from the minimum to a player who will command tens of millions on the market. Remember that in 2012, the Seahawks gave Matt Flynn a three-year, $19.5 million deal after making one incredible start in a Week 17 performance. That was more than a decade ago with a salary cap that’ll have basically doubled since then. There’s a possibility if Pittsburgh re-signs Rudolph, it’s to a starters contract, not a backup or “compete” deal.
All of that is down the road, I know. What matters is Saturday. Rudolph is the starter. Tomlin, even if he won’t admit it at his presser, knows it. The locker room knows it. The NFL knows it. Where things go from here, we’re all along for the ride. But there’s no debate, no discussion, no dilemma. Mason Rudolph is the 2023-2024 starter. Let’s ride.
