The biggest topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers is whether the team will wind up signing QB Aaron Rodgers, and with Rodgers not in the building for the first day of OTAs today, QB Mason Rudolph was asked about the team potentially signing the four-time NFL MVP. Rudolph shrugged off the noise surrounding the team bringing in another quarterback.
“It’s nothing new to me. There’s been constant noise, that is the nature of the NFL, so I’ve been used to that for a long time now. Do nothing but be the best I can be and help our team get better this spring,” Rudolph said via video provided by 93.7 The Fan on Twitter.
Rudolph was also asked how he views his chances of starting for the Steelers in 2025.
“The same way I always have. Just control what I can control, throw the ball well, lead the guys, play well when I get the chance,” he said via video posted to Twitter by Chris Adamski of TribLive.
Rudolph was with the Steelers in 2022 when the team signed Mitch Trubisky and drafted Kenny Pickett, and while it was an “open competition,” Rudolph wound up as Pittsburgh’s third-string quarterback. He excelled when he got his chance at the end of the 2023 season, though, and now back in Pittsburgh, he could be met with a similar fate as 2022, relegated to a backup role with another quarterback potentially coming in.
But for now, Rudolph is Pittsburgh’s starter, and he’s out to prove that it’s a job that should be his, even with the team still pursuing Rodgers and seemingly willing to wait as long as possible for him to make up his mind. If Rodgers signs, he’s going to usurp Rudolph as the starter, but Rudolph will look to take advantage of his opportunity as QB1, for however long it lasts.
It’s the right attitude to have, and it’s not as if Mason Rudolph was blindsided by the team’s plan to bring in another quarterback. Omar Khan has long held that the Steelers will have four quarterbacks for training camp, and Rudolph acknowledged the role that “financial compensation” plays in the depth chart during a recent interview on the Kaboly + Mack show.
While there’s a lot of noise around Rodgers and the Steelers, Rudolph’s attitude of just keeping his head down and working should serve him well, and it will help him be ready whenever he’s called upon.
