Do you think mason should be our #1?

this will be his second stint with tom arth. i think he gained knowledge under him and will continue to. i liken this to neil o'donnell. put the team around him to succeed. keep drafting until you get it right.

 

Everyone raves about Rudolph going 3-1 a couple of years ago. Duck Hodges won his first 3 starts against Philip Rivers, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield and had Pittsburgh rocking with the duck hats and duck calls in the stands. Then he promptly lost his next 3 starts and was out of the league. The Titans handed Rudolph the job last year and was so bad they had to go back to Will Levis who they were planning on benching for the rest of the year. Twice in Rudolph's career he was handed the starting job and lost it both times. Once to Duck Hodges and once to Will Levis.

 

Idk about your first sentence. He had a three game stretch where he played pretty well. People seem to forget his first stint starting, and then the Lions game (tie) where he was not very good. Russ had a couple games that were as good or better than Mason's three to end 2023 and Mason has had plenty of games where he was as bad as Russ was to end 2024....

I won't judge him solely based on his time in Tenneessee (their team sucks), but I think it is a huge stretch of the imagination to think Mason is somehow the answer for this franchise at starting QB. I think he was a great addition as a back up and hopefully the long term solution there. He'd be a great option to help mentor our next young draft pick QB.... I'm even fine with him starting this year. But, it is not something that we should expect as fans to go great. He's a fine enough QB, but we shouldn't have some pie in the sky belief that he somehow is going to turn into a good starter. I don't think we will go 2-15 or anything, he's better than that, but I would think that a 9-8 season with Mason at QB would be an extremely successful one. My expectation would likely be 6-7 wins, and that's okay.

 

I am probably Mason’s biggest supporter on this board, but I even I never elevated him to a franchise Qb based on his play. At best, he would be another Kirk Cousin and a fill gap till they land a franchise qb. However, I rather have Rudolph rather than spend a boatload on washed up Rodgers or Russel and spend the cap savings on filling numerous holes on the team.

 

Until the Achilles injury two years ago, Cousins was a hell of a lot better than a guy who fills a gap until you get your long-term quarterback.

 

I would agree that I am more willing to start Mason that spend too much on Russ or Rodgers. Mason is probably almost as good as any of Russ/Rodgers/Cousins now... He's certainly not as good as any of them were in their primes, but that isn't where we are at. I think Rodgers or Russ are okay at 20m or less for a year or two. It won't make us contenders to bring in either of them. We should be looking to 2026's QB haul (unless of course, we love a QB in this year's draft).

 

I followed Kirk Cousins when he was at Michigan State and kept somewhat up with his career. He didnt have a particularly strong arm, was slightly above average accurate, had average mobility.. sort of a ‘game manager.’ He has 1-4 record in playoffs. That’s a Mason Rudolph.

 

LMAO. Teams win playoff games, not quarterbacks by themselves. Rudolph isn't anywhere close to Cousins in his prime. One could say it is too laughable of a comparison to bother with, but let's go there for fun. That guy you think was slightly above average in accuracy once led the league in completion percentage, one of four seasons he has been over 69 percent. His career completion percentage is 66.9 percent, well above Rudolph's 63.7. Cousins has 159 career starts. Rudolph has 10. Cousins' career average for 17 games is 4,455 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Rudolph's 17-game average is 2,705 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

There are only two appropriate responses you could offer here. One is to say you simply didn't realize how good Cousins has been. The other would be to just disappear and never post again.

 

Eh, Mason is more of a poor man's Cousins. Kirk has thrown for 260+ yards per game over a full season 6 times in his career and was at 291 ypg before his achilles injury in Minnesota. Even in Mason's big 4 game stretch for us, he only threw for 236 a game. Kirk has also thrown for 64% completion percentage or more for 10 straight seasons, while Mason's career completion percentage is 63.7... They're similar type players in that they have decent arms and aren't super mobile. However, Kirk Cousins over the course of his career was a much better player than Mason's been. Kirk isn't that guy now... but he was.

 

Rudolf could make two dreams come true 1- he gets us to the s.b. 2- tomlin gets fired for letting him go and creating our q.b. nightmare .Worst that could happen Steeler Fans pray a lot more.

 

If you read my original post, I said that ‘at best’ he would be a Kirk Cousin type qb, and not that he is one now after only starting less than 20 games. That is his ceiling in my opinion at this time. Should really look at what I wrote rather than assume what I wrote and tear it down. If Mason plays like he played his last 4 games with the Steelers, my opinion he would have career success just like Cousins. Completion percentage can be deceiving based on kind of offense you run. Third down conversion is more accurate reflection of your qb capabilities. As some great coach said, you are what your record says you are. He is 1-4 is playoffs and 85-77-2 in his career. Those aren’t great numbers. At best ‘not bad.’

 

I didn't see enough to really have an opinion on the state of Cousins, but apart from the achilles I was hearing his arm looked shot and was making uncharacteristic mistakes all year. Did you follow any more closely ?

 

Pretty much describes every recent Steelers quarterback.

 

By Cousin's own admission, he could not step into his throws.
As Blast points out, that's a bad injury to return from.
I think after sitting the pine at the end of the year and another offseason, he should be ok.
I don't think there's any question about his arm strength, its more on the foot and stepping into those throws and doing so over the long haul of the season.

 

I voted no, but it's not that simple. It all comes down to what other QB(s) end up on the roster.

 

Lots of people thought that in 2019. So did the Dolphins.

 

it has been said about rodgers and cousins injury that it is usually an 18 month ordeal to fully gain it all back. the older you are the longer that may take so i can see why these guys may have not looked as good last year. either could be better this year than last. i also heard that if cousins gets his 10 mil. roster bonus he would be 10 mil. cheaper then previously thought. the falcons were ready to eat that 10 mil. just sayin.

 

I would roll with Mason. At best we make the playoffs and maybe win a game at worst we improve our draft position next year. Same for Rodgers.

 

He is 29 years old. He has been in the NFL since 2018. You need to give up this fantasy that Rudolph still has some great upside.

 

Now apparently there is a report that the Steelers are prepared to go forward with Rudolph as their starter. Tank for ...?

Man, that would be brutal failure by Khan.

 

Honestly, I'd rather roll with Rudolph than Rodgers for 2025. How many QB vets besides Stafford and Brady went to new teams and did anything significant? Significant meaning at least a conference championship appearance. Rivers, Ryan, Cousins, Wilson, Darnold, Rodgers... they all flopped. Steelers are not gonna win many more games with Rodgers over Rudolph. Probably none.