Mason Rudolph is certainly someone the Steelers believe in. Alternatively, they believe that in 2020, 37-year-old Ben Roethlisberger—who has a history of injuries and is about to have a significant elbow surgery—will be fully recovered. If not, Pittsburgh would not have taken the win-now decision to exchange the first-round pick for a DB next year. Fitzpatrick Minkah.
Mason Rudolph is certainly someone the Steelers believe in. Alternatively, they believe that in 2020, 37-year-old Ben Roethlisberger—who has a history of injuries and is about to have a significant elbow surgery—will be fully recovered. If not, Pittsburgh would not have taken the win-now decision to exchange the first-round pick for a DB next year. Fitzpatrick Minkah.
No matter how much confidence the Steelers have in their existing quarterback room, Rudolph’s performance—a 2018 third-round choice with 19 career attempts—is obviously key to the team’s success in 2019.
Compared to the Steelers, the numbers do not place as much faith in the 24-year-old. After accounting for Roethlisberger’s injury, Pittsburgh’s chances of making the playoffs fell to 8%, according to FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model. The postseason for the Steelers
Naturally, if Rudolph performs well enough to persuade the front office that he’s the right candidate for the position, then none of that will matter. Oklahoma State product seems to have a chance, based on his debut NFL game performance. On Sunday, he led the Steelers on three scoring drives against the Seahawks, finishing 63.2% of his passes with two touchdowns and one unintentional interception.
The figures are positive. However, the stats are significantly more remarkable than what Rudolph really recorded—something that happened during his tenure at Stillwater. His shortcomings as a passer are evident even in the play above, which was obviously not on the quarterback. Rudolph is 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds, yet you can see that he lacks strength in his arm from that throw. You would think that every true starting NFL quarterback, especially one you’re hyping as the future, could run a ten-yard stop route to the outside, which he was unable to do on the play above.
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