For a veteran like Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, shining during a handful of padless OTA practices isn’t groundbreaking news. But his presence as a leader for a young offense looking for someone to follow is important, and one week in, Rudolph is doing the job. Even as questions swirl around Aaron Rodgers, who could sign at a moment’s notice and bump Rudolph down the depth chart, Rudolph is acting as if he’s the guy from start to finish. That caught the attention of beat writer Mike Prisuta.
“Really impressed with Mason Rudolph in terms of how calm he is,” Prisuta told Missi Matthews in a wrap-up video for the team’s YouTube channel. “How he understands that right now it’s about him and he can’t do anything about [anything] other than him. Maybe Aaron Rodgers is coming, maybe he isn’t, but right now, Mason Rudolph is QB1.”
During Tuesday’s first practice, Rudolph fielded multiple questions about his status as the starting quarterback and the Steelers’ interest in Rudolph. His answers hit all the right notes, focusing on the players who are here and how to grow their, and his own, game. Rudolph told reporters he’s tuned out the “noise” of the rumors, speculation, and reports after dealing with them throughout his career.
A bumpy road has given Rudolph experiences to fall back on. A difficult 2019 season, rotating with Duck Hodges as both players struggled to fill Ben Roethlisberger’s big shoes. Buried on the depth chart in 2022 and 2023 before taking advantage of his opportunity late in the ’23 season, leading the Steelers to the playoffs. Spending last year in Tennessee without much talent on a team that would go on to have the No. 1 overall pick. Now, Rudolph finds himself back in Pittsburgh, turning down offers from other teams in part because of his fit in Arthur Smith’s system.
“I just really like the way he’s handled himself,” Prisuta said.
Rudolph’s professionalism won’t deter the Steelers from pursuing Rodgers, who they believe will give the team a higher ceiling. As rocky as that saga has left things for the players, wondering when and if Rodgers will arrive, Rudolph has been a calming presence and someone to steady the ship. Assuming Rodgers does sign, Rudolph will become the No. 2 quarterback with a similar goal. Backup quarterbacks get called upon at a moment’s notice, and Rudolph can come off the bench and run the Steelers’ offense as designed.
