The Pittsburgh Steelers released Mason Rudolph to free agency in the offseason. The NFL quarterback has previously complained about his role as a permanent reserve. Nevertheless, he is now returning to his long-term employer.
League sources told ESPN Monday that Rudolph will re-sign with the Steelers. The signal caller’s one-year contract expired in Pittsburgh last March.
Although numerous NFL organizations were looking for a new quarterback after the end of the season, the free agent could not get a job.
Returning to the Steelers may not have been easy for Rudolph either. He competed with Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky for the starting quarterback job for the AFC North team last year. The 27-year-old emerged as the big loser from this three-way battle and from then on only played third fiddle.
Rudolph faces the same fate next season, as Pittsburgh sees Pickett as the play caller of the future. Trubisky, on the other hand, is considered a reliable backup that makes few demands.
Mason Rudolph should inherit NFL icon
Mason Rudolph does not necessarily expect a rosy outlook in Pittsburgh. Five years ago, things looked very different. The Steelers picked him 76th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft to set him up as the successor to Ben Roethlisberger, who has since retired.
Still parked as number three quarterback in his first season, Rudolph rose to become Roethlisberger’s backup in 2019. When the two-time Super Bowl winner was seriously injured in week two, it was time for a substitute.
Rudolph then fielded the Steelers as a starter in eight games, picking up five wins in the process. However, his high risk of injury meant that after Roethlisberger’s recovery, he first slipped into the second and finally into the third term.