Mason Rudolph
Mason Rudolph
Mike McCarthy spent the first part of his Pittsburgh Steelers tenure heaping praise on Will Howard. But he’s extremely happy with the team’s other quarterbacks too.
That includes Mason Rudolph, whom he’s still getting to know.
It didn’t take long for McCarthy to appreciate what he has in Rudolph. And Rudolph quickly became a fan of McCarthy’s coaching style and attention to detail. To McCarthy, having to rely on Rudolph to win a couple of games this year isn’t too big of a deal.
“We’ve been kind of putting him just on limited reps. I gave him a little more in the beginning, but I’ve been extremely impressed with him. So, I would be very confident playing with Mason,” McCarthy said Saturday on Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I think you have to be realistic. You have to win games with your backup quarterback sometimes in this league. He’s definitely established himself that way. And you don’t really know a guy until you get a chance to work with him.”
After the Steelers drafted Drew Allar and then re-signed Aaron Rodgers, it seemed Rudolph’s days might be numbered. McCarthy was brought in to find the quarterback of the future, and with two youngsters behind Rodgers it felt a career backup like Mason Rudolph might be expendable.
Predictably, the Steelers limited Rudolph’s reps during spring workouts, focusing more on Howard and Allar’s development. But it was something of a surprise when Rudolph entered camp as QB2. And although McCarthy tells us not to focus too much on the depth chart, it’s a role Rudolph still holds.
For a team that is looking to be contend this year, there is sense in keeping Rudolph as the backup. While Howard has plenty of potential, but he might be prone to some rookie mistakes, which could be detrimental in a do-or-die game. On the other hand, Rudolph has been there and done that. A couple of years ago, he reeled off three-straight wins to get the Steelers into the playoffs. And he steadied the ship at times when coming in for Rodgers last year.
The sense that Rudolph may hold onto the backup job is growing. The Steelers are still limiting his reps, which makes sense. The preseason and the rest of camp could be their only real chance to evaluate the two youngsters. And if Howard excels during that time, he could still force his way into the backup role.
However, it’s hard to ignore the clear faith McCarthy has in Mason Rudolph. This is yet another example of him speaking glowingly about his backup, one he’s outwardly confident in.