The Pittsburgh Steelers released quarterback Mitch Trubisky on Monday, leaving them with just one quarterback under contract for 2024: Kenny Pickett. For a team that takes four quarterbacks to training camp, it will need to make several additions to fill out its depth chart. Several veteran QB options have been tossed around lately with Ryan Tannehill’s name gaining traction due to the hiring of Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator (he coached Tannehill on the Titans for two seasons).
That said, Bob Labriola of Steelers.com believes the most likely option would be to re-sign the veteran quarterback who played for the Steelers the last six seasons.
In his “Asked and Answered” column for February 13, Labriola was asked: “Which veteran quarterback feels like a most likely addition?” His answer?
“Most likely? Mason Rudolph,” he replied.
Rudolph, who will become an unrestricted free agent in March, is coming off his best stint with the Steelers — a four-game stretch in which he threw for 948 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, leading the Steelers to three consecutive wins to end the regular season and clinch an unexpected playoff berth. Riding the hot hand, Mike Tomlin opted to roll with Rudolph as the starter in the playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, even though starting quarterback Kenny Pickett was healthy. This choice caused many Steelers fans to speculate who might be under center Week 1 of the 2024 season, but Tomlin put that speculation to rest when he stated Kenny Pickett is “still the starting quarterback” at his end-of-the-season press conference.
Despite this claim, Tomlin acknowledged that there would be competition, and that Rudolph has earned a chance to fight for the job. After the Mitch Trubisky experiment was nothing less than a complete disaster, it begs the question as to whether the Steelers should look to add an outside veteran quarterback who may be well past his prime (like Ryan Tannehill) when Rudolph, who’s still just 28 years old, has shown that he can get the job done.
Reports have surfaced claiming that Rudolph is interested in a fresh start, indicating that he’s likely going to explore other landing spots, searching for a decent contract and a potentially more appealing quarterback situation. Rudolph’s play at the end of the year generated a lot of national attention, so I would expect some quarterback-thin teams to offer sizable contracts to the former third-round draft pick. The Steelers should try and match these offers, but if it turns out to be too expensive, they may have no choice but to let him walk.
Whatever the Steelers decide, it’s imperative that they acquire a veteran signal caller who can be counted on to fill in for Pickett depending on either injury or poor play. We’ve seen what Mason Rudolph is capable of, and I really don’t know if there’s better options out there who can be added for a similar price. If anything, we know that the Steelers love Rudolph, and they would have full confidence in him if he did come in to start some games in 2024. We’ll continue to monitor the Steelers’ biggest offseason question – what to do at quarterback outside of Pickett – in the weeks to come.
