On the heels of Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco commenting on veterans mentoring rookies, Ben Roethlisberger is revisiting his old comments that once drew plenty of controversy. In a live episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger discussed his thought process when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in 2017. And his thoughts on Rudolph today.
“When they drafted Mason, I made comments about, and I don’t even remember my comments,” Roethlisberger told co-host Spencer Te’o during the show. “But it was like, why did we draft Mason? It wasn’t a shot at Mason. I didn’t have a problem with Mason. They could have drafted Patrick Mahomes, whoever. It wasn’t a shot at the person. It was how are we making our team better by drafting a guy in the [third round].”
Not only did Pittsburgh drafted Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 draft, they traded up for him, too. Leap-frogging the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh climbed a handful of spots to acquire him. A third-round pick is draft grey area between potential franchise future and backup. No matter the plan, Rudolph wasn’t going to be an impact player his rookie season.
At the time, that’s the point of contention Roethlisberger had.
“I thought that maybe in the third round, you know you can get some really good football players that can help this team now,” Roethlisberger said via ESPN in May 2018.
Pittsburgh used the team’s first two selections on players who could help immediately. Strong safety Terrell Edmunds was selected in the first round and started 15 games as a rookie. Wide receiver James Washington was picked next but raw from Oklahoma State’s spread system, he caught just 16 passes his first year. Impressed by Rudolph’s Pro Day and the allure of reuniting him with Washington at the NFL level, Pittsburgh had an eye towards the future with Rudolph.
“I would’ve said the same thing if they would’ve went, we had Maurkice Pouncey, if they would’ve went and drafted a center,” Roethlisberger said. “‘What are we doing? Go find a need in the third round.'”
In 2017, Pittsburgh was coming off a 13-3 season and AFC North crown before a bitter playoff upset against the Jacksonville Jaguars. At the time, the Steelers had real Super Bowl aspirations and were potentially a few pieces away from being put over the top. Still, every front office must balance present and future and teams like the Green Bay Packers, using first-round picks on Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love, found seamless transitions to remain contenders.
After those 2018 comments, Roethlisberger and Rudolph had an icy relationship. Something both have admitted to in the years since. But Roethlisberger says that doesn’t impact his thoughts on Rudolph now, currently operating as the team’s starting quarterback during spring practices.
“I don’t have a problem with Mason. Are we boys? Are we friends? No. We don’t need to be though. But I’m rooting for him. I want him to be successful. I want him to lead this team.”
In 2023, Roethlisberger vouched for Rudolph after he came off the bench and turned around the Steelers’ season, winning the final three regular season games to make the playoffs. Roethlisberger’s also spoken highly of rookie QB Will Howard, inviting him on his podcast, and is aware Aaron Rodgers could sign at any minute to push Rudolph out of the starting spot.
Despite the clarity, Roethlisberger said many will still contend he handled the situation incorrectly.
“Both fans, and I’m sure some media people pick up on this that will totally disagree. Think everything I say is is full of crap. And most of them probably have never played or been in the situation anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”
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