The Pittsburgh Steelers opened their voluntary OTAs Tuesday with Mason Rudolph as their No. 1 quarterback.
That could soon change, as the Steelers have been heavily connected to Aaron Rodgers since his mid-March release from the New York Jets. The 41-year-old veteran hasn’t yet agreed to a deal with Pittsburgh but has hinted at the possibility of joining the team in the not-so-distant future.
Rudolph expressed at OTAs he was aware of the chatter and the likelihood of the Steelers adding a fourth quarterback, whether it’s Rodgers or someone else, before camp. However, he is doing his best to ignore the buzz while keeping his focus on the field.
‘That’s nothing new to me. There’s been constant noise,’ Rudolph said, per the Steelers’ official website. ‘That is the nature of the NFL. So I am used to that for a long time. Now I’m doing nothing but being the best I can be to help our team get better this spring.’
Rudolph spent the first six seasons of his career with the Steelers but never was the team’s primary starter. He spent most of his time with the team backing up Ben Roethlisberger before playing behind Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky in his final two seasons with the team.
Overall, Rudolph made 13 starts for the Steelers, posting an 8-4-1 record and completing 63.5% of his passes for 3,085 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions across all his action. He parlayed his 3-0 performance to close the 2023 NFL season into a job with the Tennessee Titans while the Steelers pivoted to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback.
Rudolph admitted he faced ‘a lot of adversity’ in Tennessee. He posted a 1-4 record in five starts while completing 64% of his passes for 1,530 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
That said, the soon-to-be 30-year-old believes getting ‘perspective and experience’ working with Brian Callahan’s staff for one year will prove beneficial for him. He is looking forward to growing from ‘a lot of good lessons learned’ as he returns to Pittsburgh, where he feels very comfortable.
‘I just think it’s a special place,’ Rudolph said. ‘You know, I’ve got a lot of great friends and teammates here, a lot of comfortability with Mike [Tomlin] and the staff, and [general manager] Omar [Khan] put together a great roster. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this team and this offense?’