Rudolph, who played six snaps in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts last week, will start his first game since 2021. He faced the Detroit Lions in Week 10 that season and finished with 242 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 16-16 tie.
When asked Tuesday about the possibility of playing under center, the veteran expressed excitement for himself and said his teammates were supportive. Tomlin said he made the move to Rudolph because he wants to create spark on offense.
The Steelers (7-7) are just outside of the AFC playoff picture as five teams sit ahead of them at 8-6, including the Bengals. Pittsburgh is on a three-game losing streak, but they face a Cincinnati team that will play without top wideout Ja’Marr Chase and that the Steelers have already beat.
It’s looking like C.J. Beathard will be behind center when the Jaguars take on the Buccaneers this weekend.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, Trevor Lawrence (concussion protocol) is not on the field for Thursday’s portion of practice open to media. That makes it more likely that Lawrence will miss the first game of his NFL career.
Beathard almost had to start Jacksonville’s Week 14 loss to Cleveland and the Week 7 win over the Saints on Thursday night, as Lawrence was dealing with injuries before those contests. But Lawrence was still able to play in those games.
Beathard has completed 12-of-14 passes for 77 yards in five appearances this season. He hasn’t started a game since 2020 when he was with the 49ers.
Multiple reporters also noted receiver Zay Jones was not practicing as he deals with a hamstring injury.
Jacksonville’s full Thursday injury report will be released later in the day.
Geno Smith was disappointed not to play on Monday night.
The Seahawks quarterback expected to play and was ready to play, but Pete Carroll and the team’s decision-makers decided to start Drew Lock. Lock led the team to a 20-17 upset of the Eagles.
“It was tough. It was tough,” Smith said Thursday, via video from the team. “Just preparing myself and doing everything that I possibly can to be ready to play. Seemed like I was ready to play. Expecting to go out there and play and then coach making that decision. Got to live with it. Obviously, I was hurt by it. I want to go out there and compete. I want to play any chance that I get. But I do understand that he’s got to make the decision for the team and also for me, to kind of protect me from myself at times. Had to deal with it and move on and go out there and support the guys. So, that was my main focus once I learned that I wouldn’t be able to play.”
Smith was limited in the three practices last week with a groin injury, and the Seahawks prepared Lock to start. But Smith surprised the team with his pregame workout. He was active but did not play.
Smith, who is back to full practice participation, doesn’t feel much different today than he did Monday.
“I feel pretty good,” Smith said. “Still getting better.”
Smith was asked whether he expects to play Sunday against the Titans.
“I would hope so,” he answered.
Despite showing promise in the preseason, Malik Cunningham languished on the practice squad and never got a chance to be the Patriots’ quarterback during the regular season, ultimately leaving New England when the Ravens signed Cunningham to their own active roster. Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown says the players in the locker room wish Cunningham had been given a chance.
Asked by AtoZSports.com if he thought Cunningham deserved more of a chance to play, Brown said the whole team thought that.
“Absolutely,” Brown said. “Everybody on the team did. Everybody.”
Cunningham only got on the field in one game for the Patriots this season and didn’t throw a pass. Given how poorly the Patriots’ offense has played for most of this season, it’s a surprise that Bill Belichick never gave Cunningham the opportunity to show what he could do. Brown said he thinks the Ravens will develop him as a quarterback behind Lamar Jackson.
“It’s funny because I told him months ago if they ever called, if anybody, that’s the team where he should go,” Brown said about the Ravens. “It was almost like I saw it coming. . . . And that’s really good for him to actually get a real chance to play his real position.”
Brown expressed frustration that Cunningham spent most of his time on the practice squad at positions other than quarterback, despite playing well when given the chance to play quarterback in the preseason.
“I mean, probably the most exciting drive we had in that stadium was against Houston in preseason games this season,” Brown said. “Like, my guy couldn’t even get a red jersey.”
In a year when almost everything has gone wrong with the offense in New England, Brown wonders why Cunningham didn’t get the chance to provide a spark.
Ravens receiver Odell Beckham did not practice Thursday, the first official practice day of the week before their Monday night game against the 49ers.
Beckham was listed with an illness.
Cornerback Jayln Armour-Davis (concussion) also missed Thursday’s practice.
Receiver Zay Flowers (foot), cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee), offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (concussion) and safety Marcus Williams (groin) were limited.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he has “no concern” about Flowers’ availability for Monday night.
Outside linebacker Malik Hamm (ankle) was a full participant. He remains on injured reserve.
Jake Browning is authoring an impressive, out-of-nowhere success story. It took only five years for him to get here.
There’s a general career track for a certain kind of quarterback on the edges of the NFL. These cats were the absolute best talent their hometown ever produced, and they played their way into local-legend status at their university. One day they’ll run a profitable insurance agency or car dealership in their college town — but not before taking one last swing at an NFL career.
Most times, they’ll get a gig as a backup, wearing a baseball cap and watching from the sideline for a season or two. They’ll get in for a mop-up series or a spot start as an injury replacement, and they’ll be able to tell their golf buddies for the rest of their days the story of how Aaron Donald sacked them or Jalen Ramsey intercepted them. All things considered, it’s not a terrible way to close out a football career.
Jake Browning seemed locked into this path. A high school star in Folsom, California — he threw a record 91 touchdowns his senior year and 229 touchdowns in his career — he went on to a productive run at Washington. The 2016 Offensive Player of the Year for the Pac-12 (RIP), he signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and spent most of his two years with the team on the practice squad.
Minnesota cut Browning for good in September 2021, and he reckoned with the potential end of his career in a heartfelt Instagram post. “So now what?” he wrote. “Right now, my plan is to figure out somewhere to volunteer coaching and continue to stay in shape in case I get a call for a tryout somewhere. There is always the possibility of a comeback, but I do not want to let the chance of that keep me from living my life.”
A few days after that, Cincinnati gave Browning a lifeline, picking him up and signing him to another practice squad. He played his way onto the active roster earlier this preseason.
After four seasons on the outside looking in, Browning finally took a regular-season NFL snap earlier this year. He got in some garbage-time play in Cincinnati’s season-opening 24-3 loss to Cleveland, throwing an incomplete pass, handing off twice and kneeling down to end the game. Had Joe Burrow remained healthy, that probably would have been it for Browning’s 2023 output.
But when Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury, Browning’s career found another gear. He lost his first start, against Pittsburgh in late November, but ever since, he has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league.
Over the past three games, he has completed 79 passes for 953 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions and — most importantly — three victories. He has kept Cincinnati in the middle of an extremely tight playoff race, keeping pace with the six other teams within one game of the Bengals.
Browning’s key moment of this run — hell, maybe one of the key moments of the entire season — came just last week, after he led the Bengals to an overtime win over the Vikings. Yes, the same Vikings that cut Browning without so much as a phone call.
“Should’ve never f***ing cut me!” Browning bellowed, slamming his helmet to the ground in exultation.
