After a year with the Tennessee Titans, Mason Rudolph has returned to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Right now, he’s set to be their starting quarterback. That changes if the Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers, which seems very possible. However, it’s not guaranteed. Mike Tomlin and several players have expressed their confidence in Rudolph if he’s Pittsburgh’s starter in 2025. Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson doesn’t believe that confidence is real, though.
“That’s all words,” Johnson said recently on Nightcap. “That’s all hot air. They have to say those things. They’ve got to say the right thing, especially when the individual is back in the building. You know you don’t believe in him. You know he’s not going to get the job done. Second-string quarterback, third-string quarterback, if that. You need an Aaron Rodgers.”
It feels like the Steelers’ belief in Rudolph is genuine. Last time he suited up for them, he helped them make the playoffs. While they lost in the first round, Rudolph wasn’t the issue in that game. He wasn’t a huge difference maker, but he also didn’t hurt the team.
Now, to what extent do the Steelers believe in Rudolph? That’s a trickier question to answer. It feels extremely unlikely that they’d be Super Bowl contenders with Rudolph starting for an entire season. Maybe Pittsburgh could win a playoff game, but even that feels doubtful. Rudolph isn’t a bad player, but he doesn’t raise the Steelers’ ceiling very high.
Johnson is more correct saying that Rudolph is more suited to be a backup. In that role, he feels like a quality piece of the Steelers’ roster. They’ve won games with Rudolph before. If their starter goes down, they aren’t totally hopeless in Rudolph’s hands.
The Steelers’ continued pursuit of Rodgers says a lot about how they feel about Rudolph. They like him, but they’re aware that they can upgrade over him. While Rodgers isn’t the same player that he once was, he’s still better than Rudolph. With the four-time NFL MVP, the Steelers feel more likely to make some noise in the postseason.
Pittsburgh could have a worse starting quarterback than Rudolph. With him, the team probably wouldn’t hit rock bottom. However, the Steelers’ goal isn’t to avoid rock bottom. They’re shooting higher than that, which is why they’re targeting Rodgers.
Despite that, Steelers coaches and players aren’t going to bash Rudolph, just like how they wouldn’t bash anyone else on the team. That doesn’t mean their confidence is fake, though. They’re a team, and it’s important for all of them to believe in each other.
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