A Message to Mason Rudolph

I am trying to warn steelers fans that Mason may not be back for the Steelers to try and sign. There maybe other teams
that will pay him more money and he may feel he fits in better in their system.

 

That's actually what I am hoping for. I like Rudolph. He seems like a great kid. He has been a professional the whole way through. Instead of being a malcontent, he worked hard and got better.

The Steelers have tied themselves to Kenny Pickett, for better or worse. My fear is that Pickett is going to hang around, being just barely good enough to keep his job. I would much rather see Rudolph go someplace where he may get a fair shot to compete. Whether there is a team out there that is going to give Mason that opportunity is the question.

 

Mason and his agent do

Sorta like last year

 

You acknowledge that the whole “open competition” talk was just tongue in cheek with the real writing already on the wall, yet you still pretend that Mason was somehow fooled. MR is a professional of at least reasonable intelligence, he knew that they didn’t draft Kenny first round and pay Mitch what they paid him just to have an open competition. At the same time, how would it have looked to just determine the depth chart at qb before training camp?

Mason Rudolph is a competitor. He was given the opportunity to compete. Whether he believed the open competition talk was "tongue and cheek" is besides the point. Mason Rudolph did everything he could to go out and win that job. Reports from camp were consistent amongst all the talking heads that Mason was "on fire" during practices. Art II went so far as to say "Don't count Mason out." when asked about the competition by Bob Pompeani. He sure looked better than Trubisky in the games as well. It made no difference. The fact of the matter is that Mike Tomlin made the decision before camp started, and that's what he was going to do no matter what happened. I don't think I have seen a legitimate position battle since Tomlin has been here. He paints the picture of a position battle with a "broad brush" to use his terminology, even though he knows full well what he is going to do beforehand. It is part of the reason he has had so many malcontents over the years. Not only do the players become disgruntled because they feel lied to, but teammates get frustrated as well because they know which player gave them the best chance to win.

I don’t get your position as a Steelers fan. You seem to be rooting for Mason to dis the Steelers based on emotion and hurt feelings. The NFL is a business, Mason understands that. Returning to the Steelers could very well be what’s in his personal best interest depending on how things go. He knows the team, already has chemistry with his teammates, knows the coaches, has been in the city for 5-6 years, and etc. Even if you’re rooting for Mason personally above the Steelers for whatever reasons, why not allow room for that?

I'm not sure I get your position either. You yourself say, any talk of open competition is "tongue and cheek". So why would Rudolph want to be a part of another phony QB competition? It is possible to be a fan of the team, yet want what's best for the player. Correct?

The Steelers drafted him, took him back last year when no other teams really wanted him as 1-2, then gave him a shot to showcase his worth and show that he can play. Tomlin could’ve easily went back to Kenny for the Seahawks and the Ravens.

Tomlin also could have went with Rudolph before he almost drove the team bus straight off a cliff. Everyone on earth saw how terribly Trubisky was playing. Most of us recognized it before this season. In typical Tomlin fashion, he refused to make any change whatsoever until it was almost too late. Then in magical fashion the team rebounds and he looks like a hero. The reality is, the team wouldn't have been in the situation it was in in the first place, had his decision making not put them there.

 

The only similarity is the fact that he is once again a free agent.

Variables are different.

By the way, this is the Pittsburgh Steelers we are talking about. Everything is "sorta like last year" every year.

 

Tomlin was honest about it from the beginning. He was looking at everything on the resume, not just that preseason. Also, this delusion that Rudolph won the job that preseason needs to go away. It's simply not true. He got a faster start in training camp, which made sense because he had been with the team for four years and Trubisky and Pickett were new to the Steelers. Pickett and Trubisky both had better numbers in the preseason games even though Rudolph got most of his time against weaker competition. Did Tomlin have his mind made up that Trubisky was going to start? Probably, but Rudolph didn't earn better that preseason.

 

Rudolph was not better than Trubisky or Pickett in preseason last year. I've posted the numbers many times. Spare me the "looked better" nonsense. He was playing against third and fourth stringers and he was still the worst of the three.

 

Exceptional is a bit much but yeah, he's going to get a much better deal this offseason.

 

That would be foolish. If they can sign him to a reasonable contract, they should retain Rudolph. They can't just do what works for Pickett. We are past that. If he is going to open the 2024 season as the starter and keep the job, he needs to earn it.

 

Well yes that's what we would want to see but a 3rd year 1st round pick QB will have to totally shat the bed not to be starting.

Like it or not he came in and juiced up this offense and won 3 games at the helm. He will get 4 to 5 mill and it won't be a one year deal. Mitch the Pick made some nice money and will cost 4 mill and change to release him so hopefully they can trade him for something. Can't have him under center ever again.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/mitchell-trubisky-21743/

 

No, I'm saying it would be foolish to base their decision regarding what other quarterback they sign solely on what is good for Pickett.

 

this.

or find the BEST FA QB at the best price + don't be afraid to draft again.

the Q will be: does he want to be here and what does the market look like? We will know soon enough!

 

What do they say about not being able to stand the heat?

 

You can talk such idiocy sometimes in trying to protect Pickett. Mason was playing against 3rd and fourth stringers, but he was also playing with third and fourth stringers.

 

He may not be better than half the starters in the league, but right now he’s exponentially better than Pickett. The Steelers need to make a decision based on what’s best for the team and not whether or not Pickett’s confidence may be damaged if he goes out there and sucks wind again. The best way to keep fans from chanting for Rudolph is to go out there and ball out. Rudolph is now a proven commodity who essentially led this team to three straight playoff wins and had the offense looking like a competent unit so getting him back in the fold would be the prudent thing to do. He’s a good insurance policy in the event Pickett fails, which I’m putting at about 60-40 right now.

 

You don't know that he isn't the answer... Rudolph sure was the answer at the end of this season & played like a starter... The fact that you cannot even admit that shows how pointless & biased your opinion is on this subject...
You Pickett fanboys are exhausting...

 

You Pickett fanboys are exhausting... seriously wth are you smoking?

 

What a condescending remark that the fanbase is somehow 'fooled"... Sane ppl saw it with their own frickn eyes... or maybe the guy that keeps telling everyone how great Pickett is has no business making such remarks... Seriously... Who let Kenny Picketts cousin become a mod team member???