The Pittsburgh Steelers brought in Mitch Trubisky via free agency this off-season, while also drafting Kenny Pickett and Chris Oladokun. It was expected that Trubisky would become the starting signal-caller and while he is listed first on the most recent depth chart, it is far from a sure thing based on his play in camp thus far.
As much as fans may not want to hear it, none of those three could be the starting quarterback for the franchise come September 11th. Mason Rudolph has a legitimate shot at winning the job and becoming the guy who gives the team the best chance to win.
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No one believes that the Steelers will go with Rudolph, but he has clearly had the best camp statistically so far and is the only quarterback on the roster who has any kind of experience in Matt Canada's offense. Since training camp began, Rudolph has gone 52/77 for 449 yards and 11 touchdowns. He hasn't thrown an interception and his 67.5 completion percentage is the best out of all of the quarterbacks.
Trubisky is only 45/80 (56.3%) with seven touchdowns and four interceptions, while Pickett is 38/61 (62.3%) with four touchdowns and two interceptions. It is fair to note that Trubisky has gone up against a stout first team defense, but Rudolph's numbers can't be ignored as he has had some reps with the first team offense and has been overwhelmingly the most consistent.
Canada was quoted a few weeks back commenting on Rudolph's chances at being the starting quarterback.
"Mason's getting the second reps right now, almost equal to, maybe slightly less than Mitch," said Canada. "He's being given a very fair shot. To this point in camp, it might have been exactly equal. Mason has made a lot of plays at times, he's played very well at times for us. He's got a great shot at it. He's being treated that way. His history with our plays, with our system, is a positive for him."
Canada is one of the few coaches who will have a say in who is QB1 for the team and his vote of confidence for Rudolph paired with the quarterback's consistent play absolutely means his chances are trending up.
Steelers Are In Uncharted Waters Without Ben Roethlisberger Under Center
Aside from 2019 when Roethlisberger missed the majority of the season with an elbow injury, the Steelers have not had to worry about the quarterback position since 2003. Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has an elite defense with plenty of talent, but the offense is going to need to step up and show improvement from a year ago if the team is going to compete in the AFC that has several teams who can put up points.
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Rudolph has a career record of 5-4-1 as a starter, but only has one career game of over 300 yards passing and has never thrown three touchdown passes in a game. He is the only quarterback on the roster, however, who watched and sat behind a future Hall of Fame quarterback for the majority of the last four seasons. Rudolph starting becomes complicated due to Pickett. One wouldn't expect the organization to draft a quarterback in the first round and have him inactive on Sundays, but the Steelers are not like many organizations.
Trubisky is still the guy as of now, but if Rudolph outplays him in the preseason match-ups which will begin this Saturday, we could see Rudolph have a legitimate chance of jumping him and becoming the starter.
What does a Steelers offense with Rudolph starting look like? Let us know in the comments below!
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