The hero of the 2023 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, QB Mason Rudolph, signed elsewhere after it became apparent that his former team had other plans than to give him a shot to earn the starting job. Kenny Pickett requested his way out of town because he reportedly felt misled about the nature of the quarterback competition with Russell Wilson, and then the Steelers acquired Justin Fields in a trade. That pretty much sealed the deal on Rudolph, an unrestricted free agent, moving on to another organization. He landed with the Tennessee Titans.
In Tennessee, Will Levis flashed enough in his rookie season to be the top guy entering 2024, but there is a competition underway for the top backup spot between Rudolph and 2022 third-round pick Malik Willis. Rudolph knows a thing or two about competing for such a role. After being drafted in 2018, Rudolph served as the Steelers’ QB2 for three seasons starting in 2019 with Josh Dobbs being his main competition for the job. Once Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett entered town in the offseason before the 2022 season, he was never really given a fair chance to earn the top backup spot.
From the sounds of it, he is now engaged in what is a true competition with Willis.
“It’s a fair competition. They’re gonna both get a fair shake at the two job, and we’re both up front with both those guys telling ’em that’s how it’s gonna work,” Titans head coach Brian Callahan said in a clip posted by Jim Wyatt on X. “They’ll split reps pretty evenly. They’ll get a chance to play quite a bit in the preseason, and that’s usually where it separates is the game action when you really get the evaluation.”
.@Titans HC Brian Callahan said QBs Mason Rudolph and Malik Willis are competing for the No.2 job, splitting reps. Will both play plenty in the preseason. pic.twitter.com/1FdwrqXZn1
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) June 6, 2024
In 2023, Rudolph didn’t get his chance until the final drive of the Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts after Mitch Trubisky failed to provide any spark over the game and a half following Pickett’s ankle injury. He ended up winning three straight games to help the Steelers qualify for the playoffs. During that time, many formed the opinion that Rudolph had a chance to unseat Pickett in 2024 if the Steelers decided to proceed with the same group of quarterbacks.
He passed for 719 yards on 55 completions and three touchdowns over that span and provided a spark to the passing game that hadn’t been seen all season long. He ended up signing a one-year deal worth up to $3.62 million with the Titans.
Willis has played at least one snap in nine games so far in his career, earning three starts with a 1-2 record. He came out of the draft with a ton of potential, powered by his big arm and his athleticism, but he has really struggled in his limited opportunities. He has completed just 35-of-66 pass attempts (53-percent average) for 350 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions for an adjusted net yards per passing attempt of just 1.7.
“There’s gonna be ups and downs,” Callahan said. “So it’s an ongoing evaluation and there’s gonna be ebbs and flows, and guys will look good one day and not as good the other. And so you’re trying to get their totality of work as to who’s best equipped to be the number two.”
Rudolph earned himself a lot of fans in the last month of the 2023 season, and he will definitely have some fans in his corner cheering him on from afar.
