Mason Rudolph, on Steelers future: 'For now, I'm on this team' as No. 3 quarterback

Given the way training camp and the preseason games unfolded, Mason Rudolph realized he wasn’t going to open the season as the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback.

But to begin the year third on the depth chart — behind Mitch Trubisky and rookie Kenny Pickett — that had to be a bitter pill for the fifth-year veteran to swallow, right?

“For any competitor, you always want to be first,” Rudolph said Wednesday. “That’s not the case. That is the hand I’ve been dealt. I have to do the best with it, and we’ll see what happens.”

When the season opens Sunday at Cincinnati, Rudolph won’t even be in uniform for the Steelers. Coach Mike Tomlin said he will dress only two quarterbacks on game day, meaning Rudolph will be on the sideline in street clothes.

The last time Rudolph was the No. 3 quarterback was 2018, his rookie season. Would Rudolph welcome a trade rather than spend the season inactive each week?

“Those decisions are between my agent and (GM) Omar (Khan) and the front office,” Rudolph said. “I’m going to leave that to those guys. For now, I’m on this team, and I’ll do the best I can to help these guys prepare and give everything from a mental perspective to help these guys if they need any help.”

While Trubisky started all three preseason games, Rudolph was the first quarterback off the bench in the opener against Seattle. But for the next two games, he watched Pickett take over once Trubisky exited. Rudolph played the second half at Jacksonville and then just the final offensive series in the preseason finale against Detroit.

“I had a feeling the last couple of weeks that was the way it was going to go,” Rudolph said about the competition for the No. 1 job.

Rudolph already had been informed he would be the No. 3 quarterback when the Steelers accidentally released a depth chart that listed him at No. 2. He received premature congratulatory texts from friends.

“I said no, I’m not,” Rudolph said. “It’s fake news, don’t listen to that.”

For the preseason, Rudolph completed 66.7% of his passes for 220 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 98.2 passer rating.

“I was happy with the way I played in games and in camp,” he said.

Pickett was content with the way he performed in the preseason, too. He put up the best numbers of all three quarterbacks in the exhibition games, which helped elevate him ahead of Rudolph.

“Just like I was doing a great job of getting better, that’s what I’m going to continue to do now that we’re in the regular season,” Pickett said. “It’s a little different than college because of scheduling and film study, and that’s something I’ll have to try to iron out early in my career here.”

Rudolph refused to criticize the coaching staff for his lack of work with the first-team offense.

“The hand I was dealt was the hand I was dealt,” he said. “I thought I did the best with it. I tried to control what I could control. I thought I performed. There are always mistakes, but, for the most part, I was proud of it. We’re moving on now. The game is Sunday, and that is of the utmost importance.”

Rudolph isn’t counting on a repeat of 2019 when starter Ben Roethlisberger sustained a season-ending elbow injury in the second game of the season and Rudolph’s concussion led to third-stringer Devlin Hodges entering the starting lineup.

“Yes, that happened, and it can happen, but I’m going to go about my business the way I always have,” he said. “Prepare my body and keep my mind sharp. You never know what can happen, so you always have to be sharp.”

Since 2019, Rudolph has started just two games: the 2020 season finale at Cleveland and a home game last season against Detroit when Roethlisberger was placed on the reserve/covid list. He was in line to start the following week at the Los Angeles Chargers until Roethlisberger was activated on the eve of the game.

“There’s been some adversity for sure,” Rudolph said, summing up his first four seasons. “At each bump, I’ve had to overcome it. That’s life for the most part, but I’ve been blessed to be here playing professional football.”