PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It sounds like the attributes you would want in a starting quarterback, yet it's taken until now for Mason Rudolph to even have the chance to start for the Steelers this season.
And even at that, Kenny Pickett could return and make all of this Rudolph talk moot. Tomlin said he had a good day on Monday and will see how practices go for Pickett to return from an ankle injury.
But back to Rudolph, here were some of the words Tomlin used to describe his sixth-year quarterback during his news conference on Monday.
· Tough-minded
· Confidence in himself
· Competitor
· Good under tough circumstances
· Calculated risk-taker
· Professional
· Always prepared
· Supportive of others
Yet this guy couldn't even get a sniff at playing time. This is not to say Rudolph is the long-term answer, but not even given a shot until now. Tomlin did confirm the reason Rudolph went in late against the Colts was he pretty much determined Mason would start against Cincinnati with 2:08 left to play against Indianapolis.
He would only complete two of three passes for three yards in that time, Rudolph said even with the limited body of work, he will study those plays and try to make corrections.
"It was a good feeling to get back in," Rudolph said. "I tried to move the ball at the end of the game a little bit better than we did. It's a tough situation."
His last start came on November 14, 2021 where he went 30-50 for 242 yards with a touchdown and an interception in what ended up being a tie against Detroit. The start before that, in Cleveland for a must-win game for the Browns, going 22-39 for 315 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
To put his last two starts in perspective in the last two seasons only five times has a Steelers quarterback surpasses 242 yards and only one time did a Steelers QB surpass 315 yards. The pair of touchdowns against Cleveland matches the career-high for touchdowns in a game by Pickett and bests the career-high for touchdowns in a game as a Steeler for Trubisky.
Tomlin said Rudolph has been a part of the program and he knows the team and they know him. Now he might finally get a shot.
"We believe in the guys in this locker room," Rudolph said. "We will clean it up and we have three games left. We will try to give ourselves a shot to get back in the tournament."
