The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback is a hot-button issue right now. That’s not going to change any time soon, especially not while it’s a current event. They released Mitch Trubisky just yesterday, and they still have to work on re-signing Mason Rudolph. If they want to do so before he hits free agency, I’m sure it would take a lot of convincing.
In an act of wish fulfillment, many including members of the media—particularly those on the radio, have convinced themselves that Steelers players are actively declaring their favoritism for one quarterback over the other. A loose reading of something WR Diontae Johnson said, for example, continues to resurface as a tacit endorsement for Rudolph to start over Kenny Pickett in 2024.
At best, Johnson’s comment is ambiguous, let alone his meaning. Notably, reporters who were present have not been among those repeating it as an endorsement for a starting job. Because a player actively endorsing one teammate over the expense of another is crazy. Not even RB Najee Harris, the most outspoken player on the entire team, even touched the subject.
Asked about the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh during Super Bowl week, Harris avoided answering. “Art Rooney [II] came right out and said we’re not necessarily set at quarterback. If there’s one guy you can go out and get at [that position]…”, his interviewer asked him as Harris cut him off. “Next question”, and that was it.
The whole interview, quite frankly, was cringe-inducing and awkward. He and Jaylen Warren teamed up to promote paper towels for an endorsement deal and were not enthusiastic about entertaining uninteresting or unanswerable or irrelevant questions.
Harris has been Pickett’s teammate for the entire time the young quarterback has been in the NFL. Rudolph, having just completed his sixth season, overlaps with the entirety of the running back’s career. He knows both of them well. While he may have a tendency to overshare, he’s not stupid enough to play favorites with teammates.
And he’s certainly not going to come out and say that the Steelers should bring in another quarterback from outside. Whether players should even be asked these sorts of questions is debatable, but perhaps reporters hope to get “that” answer. Harris refused to do so.
The Steelers went 7-3 during the 2023 season when Pickett started and played the majority of a game. They won all three of Rudolph’s starts at the end of the regular season, though they lost in the Wild Card Round.
On the whole, there is no question that Rudolph offered more as a quarterback than did Pickett in those games. But the question is who will offer more in the future, not in the past. The Steelers hired a new offensive coordinator and a new quarterbacks coach. They may still add to the coaching staff, perhaps a passing game coordinator. They fill focus a good deal on making sure they get a definitive answer on Pickett this offseason. Hopefully by this time next year these awkward, sponsor-driven interviews will then be slightly less so.
