Mason Rudolph’s been around for so long that the Steelers fans forget whether they were supposed to boo him or back him. Drafted in 2018, sat patiently behind Ben Roethlisberger, got tossed into the fire in 2019, and then spent most of his career getting peppered into lineups like a midweek special. Ten starts in the first four years don’t scream ‘QB of the future,’ but he was never bad. He just wasn’t great.
Yet somehow, when the Steelers collapsed in 2023, guess who dragged them to the playoffs? Yep, No. 2. That late-season surge earned him a temporary seat in Pittsburgh’s revolving QB chair. And just when he thought it might be his room again, boom! Aaron Rodgers came with his wisdom and a $13.6M contract. Suddenly, Mason’s back in the same territory. The third act of someone else’s story. But this time, Rudolph isn’t pretending. He knows where he’s weak, and he’s already fixing it.
While Rodgers was throwing 30-yard lasers at minicamp and soaking up headlines, Mason Rudolph was doing box squats in North Carolina. Performance coach Chip Sigmon recently posted an Instagram clip of Rudolph hammering lower-body training with a Williams Strength Spider Bar. The caption? “Its good to have Mason Rudolph back for a few weeks before heading back to Pittsburgh for Summer Camp. Mason wants more lower body strength while here so we started with Box Squats with the Williams Strength Spider Bar.” This isn’t just offseason fluff. It’s targeted repair work. Rudolph, long known for a strong arm but average movement, is trying to rebuild from the ground up, literally!
Because Mason Rudolph knows what’s coming next. He’s seen this movie before when he backed up Big Ben. So when the Steelers added Rodgers out of nowhere this summer, Rudolph didn’t panic. He pivoted. Asked about the quarterback shuffle, he kept it cool: “It won’t change my approach…I’ll keep doing what I’ve done my whole career. I’ve had plenty of adversity and found a way to battle through it. I stayed ready to play well when called upon.” That’s not resignation. That’s a man who’s not trying to fight the depth chart – just outrun it. But even Rodgers’ QB1 position is in question right now.
The Rodgers illusion & Will Howard’s shadow
Rodgers’ arrival, of course, shifted the entire room. The 41-year-old showed up early at minicamp, looked sharp in individual drills, and dropped a complaint about his helmet like it was the biggest issue on the depth chart. “I can’t stand the helmet,” he said, after being forced to switch from his trusted Schutt model due to new safety standards. But where’s the tension? Well, right behind Rodgers.
Because while he’s QB1 on the surface, there’s growing smoke around rookie Will Howard. Former GM Mike Tannenbaum went on ESPN and made it crystal clear: Howard will be starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers by December 1. That’s not exactly an endorsement of Rodgers’ durability or his job security. Tannenbaum cited Howard’s championship run at Ohio State, his 35 touchdowns, and the offensive line’s issues in pass protection. Translation: the older Rodgers gets, the faster Tomlin might look to the future.
The Steelers didn’t draft Howard in the sixth round to sit forever. And if Rodgers stumbles or shows even a flicker of age, the calls for youth will come quickly. Which makes Mason Rudolph’s offseason even more critical. He’s not just training to be ready. He’s training to stay relevant. And Mike Tomlin has coached through quarterback chaos before. But this season might be the toughest to navigate.
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