It seemed almost a sure thing after Mason Rudolph did not appear in a game in the 2022 season that the veteran quarterback would be moving on from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers were obviously committed to 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett as their starting quarterback, and Mitch Trubisky remained under contract to be the team’s backup.
Rudolph had played just two games in three seasons after being a third-round pick — that allegedly had a first-round grade — back in 2018. So the idea of him signing up to be a third-stringer once again seemed far-fetched.
But after being a free agent for a few months, that’s exactly what he did, re-joining the Steelers on a one-year deal.
“The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the tunnel,” Rudolph said in an episode of the Steel Here podcast. “It’s a special place. The continuity we’ve got in the quarterback room, the relationships, Mike T and his mode of operation, his charisma. … God’s got a plan. It’s not always what we might think it is. I’m happy to be back, full circle.”
Rudolph said that he had other opportunities, but the idea of going to another team wasn’t as attractive as returning to the Steelers, where he’s been paired with offensive coordinator Matt Canada since 2019 and head coach Mike Tomlin since he was drafted.
If Rudolph gets a chance to play, he wants to be able to take advantage of it, and the best place for him to do that is in a place that he’s comfortable.
“I had (other) opportunities,” he said. “When I went into it, I tried to be reasonable with the expectations. I had two starts in the last three seasons. Not a lot of game tape to sort of go off of. But at the same time, I’m confident about what I put on tape. There’s just so many things that are attractive about this place, when they reached out and let me know that the door was open, the continuity with the offense, knowing Matt’s system, coming back in and picking up without much of a learning curve was attractive.”
The other part of the equation was how close him, Pickett and Trubisky became over the course of their 2022 season together.
“I knew I was going to like Kenny when he was a fan of 80s hits — we’re talking Springsteen,” Rudolph said. “I’m a bit of an old soul. I feel like I’m a loner in that regard sometimes. He liked that stuff. We all Morgan Wallen. We all like a little country. The playlists are always top shelf in the quarterback room. It kept the juice going deep into November, December, when the season becomes kind of a grind. It’s a good group of guys.”
The last piece of the puzzle, when compared to some of the other teams that Rudolph had an opportunity to play for, was the way he feels about the Steelers roster. Rudolph wasn’t a part of the team while Omar Khan was working throughout the early part of free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft. But what he saw looks to him like the makings of a championship contender.
“I think we’ve got a chance to win a Super Bowl,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want to be a part of a team like that?”
2 • Mason Rudolph, Quarterback, Oklahoma State
6-foot-5, 235 pounds, 27 years old, 6th Season
Acquired: Drafted by the Steelers with the No. 76 overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He has twice re-signed with the team on one-year contracts for 2022 and 2023.
Last season: Rudolph served as the Steelers’ third string quarterback throughout the season. He was inactive for all but one game, when Kenny Pickett did not dress against the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 18. He did not appear in that game.
He played in all three preseason games, completing 26 of 39 pass attempts for 220 yards and two touchdowns.
Career: Rudolph started as the third-string quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger and Joshua Dobbs in 2018.
In 2019, he moved up to the backup role, with Dobbs being traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was thrust into the starting lineup in Week 3 after Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury.
He had a solid run of four games, with a passer rating over 90 in three of the four, despite the Steelers going 1-4 in those first games. He left the team’s Week 5 game with a concussion after taking a huge hit from Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas.
Rudolph missed only one game before returning to face the Miami Dolphins in Week 8, but did not have as much success in his return. He did not crack a 90 passer rating in five straight starts. He was involved in the infamous helmet-swinging incident with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett at the end of a 21-7 loss to the Browns in Week 11.
Rudolph was benched in the middle of a Week 12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals for third-stringer Devlin “Duck” Hodges. He returned to back up Hodges against the New York Jets in Week 16, putting up one of his best performances of the season, but cold not secure a victory and was injured once again, missing the season finale, as the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
When Roethlisberger returned to action. in 2020, Rudolph was relegated to backup duty, playing in 21 snaps over the first 16 weeks of the season before getting a Week 17 start at Cleveland that didn’t impact the team’s playoff fate.
Rudolph threw 22 of 39 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while nearly leading the team full of backups to a comeback victory.
In 2021, he saw action just twice, getting a surprise Week 10 start against the Detroit Lions with Roethlisberger on the COVID-19 list. He completing a career-high 30 of 50 for 242 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 16-16 tie. He also played in garbage time in a Week 16 blowout at Kansas City.
| Year | GP | Comp | Att | Yds | TDs | INTs | Passer |
| 2018 | 0 | ||||||
| 2019 | 10 | 176 | 283 | 1765 | 13 | 9 | 82.0 |
| 2020 | 5 | 25 | 43 | 324 | 2 | 1 | 87.7 |
| 2021 | 2 | 35 | 58 | 277 | 1 | 1 | 70.8 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
College: A four-star prospect out of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Mason Rudolph worked his way up the depth chart as a freshman at Oklahoma State, starting three games after a pair of injuries.
After that, he was a three-time starter, completing over 63% of his passes and throwing for 13,618 yards. He was an All-American and All-Big 12 selection after the 2017 season, when he threw for 4,904 yards and 37 touchdowns.
| Year | GP | Comp | Att | Yds | TDs | INTs | Passer |
| 2018 | 3 | 49 | 86 | 853 | 6 | 4 | 154.0 |
| 2019 | 13 | 264 | 424 | 3770 | 21 | 9 | 149.1 |
| 2020 | 13 | 284 | 448 | 4091 | 28 | 4 | 158.9 |
| 2021 | 13 | 318 | 489 | 4909 | 37 | 9 | 170.6 |
Salary cap and future: Rudolph has a $1.08 million salary and a $940,000 cap hit in 2023 on his one-year contract. He will become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The rest of the 90:
