Heading into the 2023 offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph didn’t even know if he’d have a job during the following regular season.
He was even considering a career change.
Rudolph has no such problem in 2024.
This offseason, the only question is who he’ll be playing for next.
With his contract expiring, he could decide to test free agency or Rudolph and the Steelers could try to work out a return.
It has been unclear what the Steelers plan to do at QB during the offseason, but it seems they indicated to the quarterback that they want him to stay in Pittsburgh.
During an appearance on “The Ramon Foster Show”, Rudolph told his Foster that Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan said they’d like to have him back next season.
“Yeah, it was good. Visited with Mike T and Omar both and … it was so early, like three or four days after we played our last game, and there’s a lot neither side knows,” Rudolph told his former teammate. “I felt like they meant it when they said they’d like to have me back, and I feel like they want to do future business with me. That’s good to hear. But like you said, there are so many variables and it’s still so early, it’s still January, so who knows what will happen?”
Rudolph made a great case for himself to get another contract at the end of the 2023 season.
A Strong Case for a Return to the Steelers
During the 2023 NFL offseason, it wasn’t even guaranteed that Rudolph’s career would continue.
He was even considering a career change.
This offseason, he has no such issue.
Over the last three games of the 2023 regular season, Rudolph ensured that he’ll be on a roster somewhere next season.
Against the Bengals in Week 16, Rudolph threw for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The following week, he threw for 274 yards against the Seahawks.
Then he completed 90% of his passes against the Ravens in awful weather conditions to close out the regular season.
He led the team to wins in each of those games before his run of solid performances came to an end in a playoff loss to the Bills.
The best argument for bringing Rudolph back is what he did for George Pickens in his starts.
Pickens had his two best games of the season with Rudolph under center. In weeks 16 and 17, the second-year receiver had a combined 11 catches for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Having a QB on the roster that was able to bring the best out of one of your brightest young stars certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Rudolph definitely proved that bringing him back is a move worth considering for the Steelers, but there are still some things that could get in the way.
Potential Obstacles to a Rudolph Return
While Rudolph’s success at the end of the 2023 season and experience with the Steelers would seem to make him a good fit for the team’s 2024 roster, there are a few things that could keep him away.
The first is money.
In 2023, Rudolph only made $1 million, which was a huge bargain considering how the season ended.
He’ll be getting a nice raise in 2024.
There will be other teams looking at him as a backup option during the offseason, which will drive his price up.
The Steelers could decide to go with a cheaper option if they are convinced Kenny Pickett is definitely their guy in 2024.
The other potential obstacle is something that Mark Madden brought up on January 22.
Bringing Rudolph back could make it harder for Pickett to succeed next season.
His return would open up the possibility that fans would call for him to replace Pickett as soon as the young QB struggles.
That could hurt Pickett’s confidence and there could even be players in the locker room that would agree with the fans, which would be an even bigger problem.
If the Steelers are worried about those possibilities they might let Rudolph leave for the sake of Pickett.
The other potential obstacle is that they might not have room for him on the roster.
There hasn’t been any news on the team actively pursuing a new QB, but they could still try to make a move during the offseason.
If they land a veteran starter, Pickett would become the backup and there would be no spot on the depth chart for Rudolph.
For now, it sounds like the team wants him back, but a lot can change by the time free agency begins.
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Steelers Told Veteran QB They’d Like to Have Him Back in 2024