The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Mason Rudolph this offseason as a stopgap and a backup plan, all in one. Rudolph was drafted by the Steelers and has led them to the postseason before. However, in his most recent stint with the Tennessee Titans, he lost the starting job to Will Levis, and hasn't quite recovered. Rudolph's familiarity with the Steelers organization makes his ceiling higher in Pittsburgh, but odds are we'll never get a chance to know what he has left to give.
Rudolph is a backup quarterback on most teams, there is no denying that. Yet, the Steelers bungled their own quarterback situation so horribly that he may be their best-case scenario. Whether it's letting Russell Wilson and Justin Fields walk, refusing to take a quarterback early enough to matter or waiting around for Aaron Rodgers, it hasn't been an ideal offseason behind center for Pittsburgh.
Mason Rudolph is the odd man out in Steelers QB room
For what it's worth, Rodgers should eventually sign, which will once again put Rudolph behind the eight ball. It wouldn't be the first time Rudolph was treated poorly by the Steelers organization or their franchise pillars. Rudolph has been nothing but class despite the impending doom coming his way in the form of Rodgers, who is a future Hall of Famer on his final stop.
"That's nothing new to me," Rudolph said Tuesday. "There's been constant noise -- that is the nature of the NFL, so I have been used to that for a long time now. I do nothing but be the best I can be and help our team get better this spring."
Rudolph added that it's good to be wanted, which is a feeling he's not all that familiar with from his previous stint in Pittsburgh. Rudolph was drafted in the third round out of Oklahoma State in the 2018 NFL Draft. Future Hall of Famer and then-current Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took offense to that. While he insists he wasn't threatened by Rudolph, Roethlisberger told the media he thought the pick was a mistake. Rudolph has also not-so-subtly hinted that Roethlisberger wanted little to do with the role of a mentor.
Mason Rudolph has been treated poorly by the Steelers organization
Rudolph started 13 games for the Steelers over his four seasons in black and gold. His best and most notable season came in 2023. While the Oklahoma State product was passed over by the starting job in favor of Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett (gross), he eventually received another chance due to injuries late in the season. Rudolph played the best football of his career, leading the team that snubbed him to the postseason, only to lose to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old has given Pittsburgh a lot over the years, and hasn't asked for much in return. Finally, it seems as though he has a realistic path to starting in 2025, but the rug could once again be pulled out from under him by a 41-year-old QB who doesn't value all that the Steelers organization has to offer.
Rudolph is far from a perfect player – in fact, he's not even a starting-caliber QB – but he deserves better than how he's been treated by the team that drafted him back in 2018.