The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to add Russell Wilson as their new quarterback, which means that Mason Rudolph’s days with the Black and Gold are soon to be over.
Before bringing in Wilson, there was plenty of talk this offseason about Rudolph competing with Kenny Pickett for the starting quarterback position. However, Pittsburgh ultimately went in a different direction, as the opportunity presented itself when the Denver Broncos cut Russell Wilson and his mammoth contract.
“Mason Rudolph’s people met with the Steelers today, and we know how that went. Never say never, but something crazy would have to happen for Rudolph to return to the Steelers,” wrote The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Most NFL teams typically carry three quarterbacks on their roster during the season. With Mason Rudolph seemingly on his way out, the Pittsburgh Steelers could draft their third-string signal-caller behind Kenny Pickett and Russell Wilson via this summer’s NFL Draft or look for a younger veteran in free agency.
Mason Rudolph has drawn interest from several NFL teams
Mason Rudolph was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite being a backup, Rudolph has shown glimpses of what he can do when he plays significant snaps for the team when given the chance.
Following Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending elbow injury in 2019, Rudolph played 10 regular-season games (8 starts), recording 1,765 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine interceptions for a 62.2 completion percentage.
After playing sporadically in 2020 and 2021, Mason Rudolph didn’t take a snap in 2022. He didn’t see the field until last season when Kenny Pickett suffered an ankle injury and Mitch Trubisky had a horrible stretch of games.
In four regular-season games in 2023 (3 starts), Rudolph tallied 719 passing yards and three touchdowns for a 74.3 completion percentage. In the postseason, the Oklahoma State product had 229 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception for a 56.4 completion percentage in the wild-card defeat to the Buffalo Bills.
According to Mike Garafolo from the NFL Network, Mason Rudolph is set to become a top backup somewhere (unless he decides to take a minimum deal to stay in Pittsburgh). But it has yet to be revealed which teams are interested in his services.