While the Pittsburgh Steelers have been focusing on their own quarterback competition, former Steelers passers are battling for jobs and spots in new cities. While Kenny Pickett is reportedly struggling to hang onto the No. 2 job in Philadelphia, Mason Rudolph is cruising along in Tennessee.
According to Tennessee Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt, Rudolph has impressed through the first week of training camp and has a clear leg up on No. 3 quarterback Malik Willis.
“The veteran quarterback has been remarkably accurate in the first seven practices of training camp, and he looks poised to win the backup job,” Wyatt wrote for the team site Monday morning.
And he has the stats to prove it. Like us, Wyatt tracks camp stats, noting Rudolph has completed a remarkable 85.7 percent of his passes during the 11-on-11 periods. For context, even as Justin Fields is coming off a strong week of practices, he completed *just* 74 percent of his throws over the Steelers’ last six sessions.
Despite Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan making overtures in favor of Mason Rudolph returning this offseason, they swung the door shut after signing Russell Wilson early in free agency. Even at that time when the team planned a Wilson versus Kenny Pickett summer battle, that left Rudolph as the No. 3 and a role not worth returning to Pittsburgh for. Instead, he signed one-year, $2.87 million contract with the Titans in mid-March. He was brought in to compete with Willis, once heavily vetted by the Steelers before landing on Pickett, and someone who has struggled early in his career.
“He plays on time, and then he’s got a little bit of gamer to him,” new Titans head coach Brian Callahan said of Rudolph via Wyatt.
Rudolph worked well on scripted throws, getting the ball out quickly and displaying a plus arm and accuracy. And in moments, he could make the play work in a scramble drill, once rushing for 26 yards in a 2021 game while with the Steelers. His poised play turned the team’s 2023 season around, the Steelers winning their final three games and pushing into the playoffs even if they were quickly dispatched by the Buffalo Bills.
Now, he’s likely to beat out Willis to become Will Levis’ understudy, one snap away from seeing action. It’s still not the starter job Rudolph wants but it puts him closer to the field than Pittsburgh allowed him to start off the last two season openers.
