Being Mason Rudolph hasn’t exactly been the easiest thing over the last few seasons. But the fifth-year Steelers quarterback doesn’t have time to complain.
Rudolph, who has become somewhat of a polarizing figure in Pittsburgh due to his inconsistent play, his perceived rocky relationship with Ben Roethlisberger, and the lofty expectations thrown on him by former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, now finds himself firmly in a quarterback competition as training camp opens Wednesday.
“We have a chance to play,” he said before Pittsburgh’s first open training camp practice in Latrobe Wednesday. “We’ve all done a good job at blocking out the outside noise.”
The ‘all’ is he, apparent starter Mitch Trubisky, and rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett. The three will work in some sort of cycle along with another rookie, Chris Oladokun.
“There’s going to be a rotation,” Rudolph said. “But that’s above my pay grade. Whatever reps I get, I’m going to make the most out of them.”
Rudolph’s path to this competition has been unstable, to say the least. He and Roethlisberger were not especially close, and that may be sugar coating things. Colbert initially labeled Rudolph as a player with a ‘first-round grade’ when he was drafted in the third round five years ago. He was tossed into the fires as a second-year player in 2019 when Roethlisberger went down with a season-ending elbow injury.
Then, when Roethlisberger retired this winter, potentially opening the biggest door yet for Rudolph to lay claim to the reins of the offense, the team signed a former first-round pick in Trubisky and then drafted Pickett, a fan favorite already who helped Pitt to an ACC title last season.
It would be logical to assume that the hits he has taken could have pushed him into a negative headspace.
"Not really, I think I've been positive the entire time,” he sad. “I knew all I needed was a chance to compete. And that's what I'm going to get today, tomorrow and the rest of camp. I'm going to make the most of it."
As for when he thinks the quarterback competition may be won?
“Every day,” he said. “Today, tomorrow. I can’t put my finger on it. That’s a question for coach. But I’m looking forward to having a great practice today. I think our offense is coming back in great shape and we’re ready to roll.”
Rudolph, in his time splitting the starting role with Devlin Hodges in 2019, went 5-3 and passed for 1,765 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
With Roethlisberger back healthy, he attempted just 101 total passes over the last two seasons, losing a Week 17 game to Cleveland and tying Detroit last year after finding out the night before the game that Roethlisberger had tested positive for COVID-19.
Now, depending on how Trubisky and Pickett perform, he may get a true shot at claiming the starting job. And that experience with Pittsburgh’s returning receivers could be beneficial.
“You’re always looking forward to getting ‘one’ reps,” he said. “Reps, in this profession, are few and far between. But it’s calming to know that I’ve got relationships with Chase (Claypool) and Diontae (Johnson) and Pat (Freiermuth) and have played in some games with those guys. They know me and we’ve got a good connection, I believe.”
An opportunity is there for Rudolph, even if most of the Steelers’ roster moves and the overwhelming desires of the fanbase are against him. Despite all that, he’s trying to embrace what will likely be the most important training camp of his professional career.
“I think I put a lot of pressure on myself," he said. "You expect a lot from yourself. I’m going into year five, I want to be improving. I want to be near perfect on every throw, every handoff, every protection adjustment.
“I know there’s things coaches are looking at, but I try to block that out, just like how I block out any outside noise and focus on the things I can control.”