The Pittsburgh Steelers might have to call on a familiar name at quarterback against the Chicago Bears this week. QB Aaron Rodgers is dealing with a reported fracture in his left wrist. Former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck says he could potentially not miss any more time because he played through the same injury. But if that isn’t the case, the Steelers will turn to QB Mason Rudolph.
Rudolph replaced Rodgers at halftime against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. He completed 75 percent of his passes (12 of 16) for 127 yards and one touchdown. He played well in relief to help secure the win. And if he is pressed into service, his teammates have all the confidence that he’ll play well. But former Steelers OL Trai Essex doesn’t have the same confidence if Rudolph plays more than just a couple of games.
“He’s had his chances to cement himself as a starter here, and it didn’t work out,” Essex said Tuesday on the Fan Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan. “His role is a backup, and unless he has a Nick Foles-type of back half to this season, he can only take us so far. I think he can get us to the playoffs. I don’t ultimately think he could win a playoff game for us, if I’m being honest.”
While that is disheartening to hear, Essex has a point. Mason Rudolph has never taken the reins as the Steelers’ starter at any point in his time with the team. The Steelers took Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. But the most games he ever started in a single season of his career, Steelers or otherwise, was eight.
Part of that was that Ben Roethlisberger was still the Steelers’ quarterback for the first four seasons of Rudolph’s career. But Rudolph never really factored into the Steelers’ long-term plans after Roethlisberger retired. In 2023, he was the third option behind Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky. But he led the team on a three-game winning streak to end the regular season and helped the Steelers squeak into the playoffs. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to guide the Steelers to a victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round.
Now, is that all Mason Rudolph’s fault? The Steelers obviously saw fit to keep him around for a while and then brought him back after his lone year with the Tennessee Titans. But you could argue that Rudolph never got a fair shake with the franchise’s weight behind him as the starter. In 2019, Roethlisberger missed most of the year, so the team had to turn to Rudolph and Duck Hodges. But the same Steelers thought that Trubisky was a better option as Pickett’s main backup in 2023. And we all saw how bad Trubisky looked in relief.
What Mason Rudolph does have is a penchant for giving his receivers a chance to make plays. In his first start of 2023, he threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals. He averaged 10.7 yards per attempt in that game. Maybe that’s why his teammates have confidence in him. They know he’ll take chances trying to get them the ball.
But maybe that’s why Essex doesn’t have confidence in him long-term. That style of play can cost you in terms of turnovers. And that’ll hurt real bad in the playoffs.
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