The major storyline from Aaron Rodgers' appearance on the Pat McAfee Show yesterday was how the Jets hurt his feelings, making him fly across the country to get fired. The takeaway I'm going with is that the Steelers might be starting Mason Rudolph this season.
I think the general belief for the last month or so has been that Rodgers will be joining Pittsburgh. He doesn't have a job, and Pittsburgh is the only team that doesn't have a certain starting quarterback on its roster. (Browns are also pretty iffy, but they're in a great spot to potentially draft one early, they'll be fine with Joe Flacco, and there have been no reports of interest either on Rodgers' or Cleveland's part.)
But does Mike Tomlin really want to invest in the Rodgers circus? Pittsburgh obviously isn't where he wants to play, assuming he wants to play at all. It seems clear he's not looking to change his ways at this point, being there for Day 1 of OTAs or anything. And he's 41. What's the point?
Pittsburgh has been doing its due diligence on the draft's top quarterback prospects, as well they should. But far from a given they'll be able to draft any of the most desirable ones. Cameron Ward will be long gone, and Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart may also be (Pittsburgh is sitting at 21, and since they've already traded away their 2nd-round pick for DK Metcalf, moving up would be very difficult). Jalen Milroe or perhaps a later rookie are in play, but a Week 1 starter in the draft might not be happening. Probably won't, I'll argue.
Which brings us to the only quarterbacks on Pittsburgh's current roster, Skylar Thompson (3 forgettable starts in three seasons) and Rudolph.
If Rudolph is indeed Pittsburgh's Week 1 starter, what can be expected from the offense? It's not good, but it's not a total disaster, either.
I set aside Rudolph's starts for Pittsburgh in the 2019-2021 seasons, which of course included Helmet Gate. Long time ago, totally different rosters, and it wasn't certain then that Rudolph was not a franchise quarterback. Now it is; we're all aware that Rudolph, if he's in the lineup, is a bridge to the next youngster the team starts.
Knowing that, let's look at Rudolph's eight starts for Pittsburgh (3) and Tennesse (5) the last two seasons. His teams won half of those games, and scored 30-plus points three times. Rudolph averaged 235 passing yards and 1.3 touchdown passes, plus a rushing score. He averaged an interception and slightly under 2 sacks per week. He's been serviceable.
| MASON RUDOLPH AS STARTER, 2023-2024 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Opp | Result | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Sk | Run | TD |
| 2023 | PIT | Cin. | W, 34-11 | 63.0 | 290 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | PIT | at Sea. | W, 30-23 | 75.0 | 274 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | PIT | at Bal. | W, 17-10 | 90.0 | 152 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | -1 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | TEN | at Buf. | L, 10-34 | 62.5 | 215 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 13 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | TEN | at Det. | L, 14-52 | 57.9 | 266 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 29 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | TEN | N.E. | W, 20-17 (OT) | 60.6 | 240 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 19 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | TEN | at Ind. | L, 30-38 | 67.6 | 252 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | TEN | at Jac. | L, 13-20 | 61.3 | 193 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 23 | 0.0 |
| Average | 67.2 | 235 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 12 | 0.1 | |||
I won't be drafting Rudolph anywhere, and I don't think anyone should get excited about the offense with him starting. But I'll argue the passing game with him will be no worse than it was with the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields combo, and probably better (Wilson hasn't averaged 235 passing yards since five years ago). Rodgers has been under 230 in each of his last two seasons since 2021.
George Pickens, DK Metcalf; I guess Rodgers would be better for those guys, certainly in terms of touchdowns. But Rudolph might be OK, and right now I'm guessing that's how it will end up going.
--Andy Richardson