Mason Rudolph had spent the past 30-some-odd games of his professional career doing a lot of watching. And a lot of waiting. As the third-string quarterback, he wasn’t even allowed to be in uniform last season. At least in 2023, he was able to dress as an emergency quarterback.
Now he’s on the verge of quarterbacking a surprise playoff team—or at least he has a shot at it. He’s helped a Steelers offense that was averaging under 16 points per game put up twice that over the past two, averaging 32 points in his two starts.
It’s all led many to question Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his decision-making. Not just for not starting him over Mitch Trubisky earlier, but for some, for the evaluation process of the past several years. After all, if he could do this now, couldn’t he have done it sooner?
“There’s a fine line between being a backup and a Pro Bowler in the National Football League”, Tomlin told reporters yesterday when asked if there was any questioning within the staff about how they could’ve missed Rudolph’s talent. “They’re all professionals. They’re all really good at what they do.”
For a coach who more than any other is directly associated with the notion of the “next man up”, that’s hardly a surprising response. I gather that a part of him really believes what he’s saying. And he brought up players like ILB Myles Jack and DB Eric Rowe stepping up the past two weeks as examples.
“I think that happens all the time in the National Football League”, he said. “Attrition is very much a component of our game. This is not a patient man’s business, but I always ask people to work while they wait for opportunity. He is just an example of that, a guy that is prepared when opportunity presents itself”.
One thing Rudolph could never be accused of is being unprepared. For whatever frustration or resentment he may have held for whatever reason over the years, he has always seemingly maintained a level of professionalism in how he goes about his own work.
I recall a time last season when he gave a passive-aggressive answer about how he bartered with the other quarterbacks during the bye week just to get some practice reps, which he hadn’t been getting as the third quarterback. Defenders this past week have praised his dedication to a high level of play as the scout-team quarterback.
In the past two games, the sixth-year veteran has gone 35-of-51 passing for 564 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions with a 118.4 quarterback rating. He is averaging more than 11 yards per pass attempt and has hardly even put a ball in harm’s way, let alone tossed an interception.
Tomlin’s stance is that there are many players around the NFL like Rudolph, who quietly go about their business in a professional manner and whose talents are ordinarily unseen because of their role. “It’s that perspective of it. They’re all professionals. They’re all capable”, he said. “I don’t know that any of us are shocked when any of those professionals perform really well, particularly when prepared”.
It’s probably too late for Rudolph to make the Pro Bowl for the 2023 season. But he could make the playoffs. And if he manages to get them there, it’s hard to imagine anybody but him starting that first playoff game. His opportunity has finally come when he’s ready for it, and he’s been making the most of it so far.
