A chant calling for quarterback Mason Rudolph to play broke out at the last Pittsburgh Steelers home game. Those fans may get their wish in Week 16.
After another subpar performance from Mitch Trubisky, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was non-committal on who would start behind center against the Cincinnati Bengals on December 16. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that regular starter Kenny Pickett could be back, but in all likelihood, Pickett won’t be able to return until Week 17.
That will force Tomlin to make a decision between Rudolph and Trubisky.
Rudolph made his last start more than two years ago in Week 10 of the 2021 season. Even still, he made it clear that he will be prepared to start against the Bengals.
“I would love to play for this team,” Rudolph told reporters, via The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski. “We will see. That’s a coaching decision. The game just ended. So, we will see what happens. That’s out of my hands.
“I am confident in the way I’ve stayed sharp all season, and this isn’t my rookie year. The staff always puts a good plan together, so if I get the nod, I’ll be ready to roll.”
Rudolph made his last start more than two years ago in Week 10 of the 2021 season. Even still, he made it clear that he will be prepared to start against the Bengals.
“I would love to play for this team,” Rudolph told reporters, via The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski. “We will see. That’s a coaching decision. The game just ended. So, we will see what happens. That’s out of my hands.
“I am confident in the way I’ve stayed sharp all season, and this isn’t my rookie year. The staff always puts a good plan together, so if I get the nod, I’ll be ready to roll.”
“After (Trubisky’s second interception), that’s when I was told, ‘If we get the ball back, we’re gonna go your way,’” Rudolph told reporters according to Adamski.
By the time the Steelers received the ball back, there was only a little more than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Therefore, Rudolph didn’t have much of a chance at an audition for the starting job in Week 16.
On 3 pass attempts, Rudolph had 2 completions for 3 yards. He also took a sack.
But just getting Rudolph some snaps in real game action for the first time in nearly two years clears a path for him to play a much bigger role on December 23.
“It was a good feeling to get back in,” Rudolph said. “But we have to move the ball there at the end of the game a little bit better than we did. It was a tough one.”
Tomlin has become a bit of a broken record after losses. He almost always says something to the effect that the Steelers will make changes in some capacity.
He said that again following the loss in Indianapolis but really tried to emphasis that “everything is on the table” in terms of what changes could be made.
