Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Booger McFarland believes that Pittsburgh Steelers defensive stars like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward should consider holding out if Mason Rudolph is the starting quarterback.
With no certain decision yet from Aaron Rodgers, Rudolph would seem like the next likeliest option to be a starter for the team.
“They are taking years off the lives of guys who are potential Hall of Fame players,” McFarland said on ESPN’s “NFL Live.” “When you talk about Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, if you go out there with Mason Rudolph in game one, if I’m Cam Heyward, I might not even show up, because if you’re not going to put forth the effort offensively or organizationally, why do you want me out here?”
Rudolph went 1-4 in his starts in 2024, throwing nine touchdowns and nine intercpetions while amassing 1530 over the year.
Rudolph’s time with the Steelers was up and down, and he never got an extended chance until 2023 following a rough 2019 in his second season. The NFL is a business, and oftentimes, the depth chart can be predicted by financial compensation. Rudolph has been hardened by the business s as a result, but would not change anything.
Rudolph’s breakout three games came at the end of the 2023 season, where he led the Steelers from 7-7 to 10-7 and a playoff berth, where they would lose to the Buffalo Bills.
The Steelers drafted Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He stayed with the team through the 2023 season after a second lease on his NFL life.