Mason Rudolph ready to rebound as Steelers backup QB after rocky 2019 season

From the moment he conducted his season-wrapping press conference — one day after the Pittsburgh Steelers fell short of the playoffs for the second year in a row — Mike Tomlin put his support behind Mason Rudolph.

Team president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert quickly followed suit. Mason Rudolph would be the team’s backup quarterback in 2020.

Yes, the same Mason Rudolph who was benched in the second half of the season for three games. The same Mason Rudolph who was concussed against Baltimore, hit on his unprotected head by his own helmet at Cleveland and sustained a season-ending dislocated shoulder against the New York Jets.

No veteran would be pursued as insurance in case 38-year-old Ben Roethlisberger had difficulty recovering from right elbow surgery. Rudolph, with eight career starts in one lone season of action, would hold the job entering his third year in the NFL.

“I’m very confident about myself,” Rudolph said Saturday, “and when the organization supports you and has faith in you moving forward that always builds confidence.”

The Steelers’ decision was met with criticism in certain NFL circles. National experts and former players lobbied the Steelers to bring in help from the outside. That was particularly true when Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston hit free agency.

The Steelers, however, didn’t budge, putting their faith in a player they had affixed a first-round grade before trading up to get Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

“We’re looking forward to him taking a significant step this year,” Tomlin said. “I think that’s a reasonable thing as he continues to mature not only through time spent with us, but experience and exposure. He’s got some in-game exposure.”

The Steelers were 5-3 in games that Rudolph started. He completed 62% of his passes for 1,765 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. But the offense wasn’t the same after Roethlisberger exited for good at halftime of Week 2, scoring just one touchdown in eight of the final nine games — be it with Rudolph or rookie Devlin Hodges taking the snaps.

“I didn’t run our offense at the level to meet the Pittsburgh Steelers standard,” Rudolph said. “You look at the film, the deficiencies, ways to improve. There’s a lot of meat on the bone there.”

For a while in 2019, Rudolph showed he could handle the experience. He was under center last year when the Steelers reeled off consecutive wins against the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams to move above .500 at 5-4.

That turned out to be the high point of his season. Rudolph was benched at halftime in Cincinnati just 10 days after Myles Garrett swung a helmet that conked the quarterback on his unprotected head.

Rudolph didn’t return until the penultimate game of the season with playoff positioning at stake and the Steelers losing by 10 points to the New York Jets in the second quarter. Rudolph rallied the Steelers to a halftime tie, but he dislocated his left shoulder in the third quarter. The Steelers lost, and Rudolph’s season was over.

Still, Rudolph’s play in Week 16 — he completed 14 of 20 passes with one touchdown, no interceptions and a 104.0 rating — left a positive taste that he carried into the offseason.

“I thought there were things there you could build a foundation upon,” he said. “It was just good to get back in the action, get back to playing football, scoring points. It was unfortunate with the injury there and being removed when you feel like you’re heading in the right direction and a chance to make the playoffs. It was hard, but that’s football.”

Two weeks after the season, the Steelers hired Matt Canada as quarterback coach, a decision that removed the responsibility from offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. Canada was hired to assist in the development of Rudolph, Hodges and former first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch.

“We have had a lot of film time to study what went on last year, what we can maybe do better, what he can see, what he did well,” Canada said about Rudolph. “Obviously, you want to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Those things that we did well, we want to keep trying to find those plays, those concepts. And the things we didn’t do as well, we want to correct and improve, which we are going to do. And also, minimize how many times we are going to do it. He certainly has a great desire to learn. He certainly has a great desire to get better.”

The question is when Rudolph will get a chance to show whether he has gotten better. With the NFL eliminating preseason games, Rudolph has been robbed of the valuable snaps he used last year to unseat Joshua Dobbs for the No. 2 job.

“This time of year is where we get the reps that count,” Rudolph said. “Growth and development are what we are all trying to move toward.”

Rudolph is unwavering in his belief that he’ll be ready if called upon this season. And his aspirations remain higher than merely being the Steelers backup.

“I am confident that I will be a starting quarterback in the NFL,” Rudolph said. “Right now, my job is to prepare and push Ben and help our guys any way I can. In training camp, I want to prove it and take advantage of these reps every single day. It’s exciting. It’s a fun time of the year.”