It's Official The Pittsburgh Steelers Re-signing Free Agent Quarterback Mason Rudolph

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mason Rudolph appeared to be on their way to a divorce this offseason, but it now is being reported that Rudolph is going to be back in Pittsburgh for at least 2023. The move makes sense for both sides as the Steelers weren't able to find a viable option to fill their third quarterback position, and Rudolph didn't draw any interest on the open market as a free agent. 

Over the weekend the Steelers had several quarterbacks at Rookie Mini camp including undrafted free agent signee Tanner Morgan. But none of those quarterbacks must've made a big impact on the coaching staff. Along with Morgan was former Rams quarterback Bryce Perkins, and former Clemson and Northwestern quarterback, Hunter Johnson.

Today 93.7 The fan radio host, Andrew Fillipponi broke the news on Twitter that according to his source Rudolph is indeed coming back to the Steelers. There has been no other reports as of the time of this story being published, so take it with a little bit of a grain of salt. But to Fillipponi's credit he did announce the entire Steelers schedule hours before it was announced last Thursday. [Editors note - 1 other source has confirmed to SteelerNation.com that Rudolph is returning to Pittsburgh]

We can now confirm, Rudolph is returning to the Steelers per a text message to Kevin Adams. 

A few months ago, it was reported by Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reported that Rudolph will not return, as he wants to find a spot where he can play. 

"Rudolph might have the ability to pick and choose a situation that is best for him to compete for a starting job or, at worst, a backup spot. Rudolph has zero interest in returning to the Steelers."

With that being said, Rudolph seems to have run out of options. It also seems like he hasn't had any bit of interest in free agency. There hasn't been a single report of Rudolph visiting with any teams during free agency. Rudolph has had plenty of chances to show off his skills to other teams. While he's played decent his inability to score points for the Steelers was critical. When Ben Roethlisberger missed a game during the 2021 season due to COVID, Rudolph stepped in and led the Steelers to a tie against the winless Lions only managing 1 touchdown. 

Steelers’ Quarterbacks Comfortable With Each Other

It's definitely interesting that Rudolph would want to return in any capacity, even if he doesn't have too many options in other places. Pittsburgh gave him the short end of the stick some believe and it's likely he believes when they signed Mitchell Trubisky and didn't give him a chance to earn the starting spot in 2022. However, he knows the system and he has a solid relationship with Trubisky, and Kenny Pickett.

Another aspect to look at is the fact that Trubisky will likely be leaving town after the 2023 season. It's pretty apparent at this point that Rudolph isn't going to be a starting quarterback for any team. Staying in Pittsburgh would likely leave him in the driver's seat to be Pickett's back up in 2024 and beyond. Let's not forget that Rudolph made $5.08 million last season to hold a clip board all season. 

Rudolph has played in 17 games during his four seasons with the Steelers completing 61.5% of his passes for 2366 yards while throwing 17 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He has a 5-4-1 record as a starter but hasn't won a game since 2019.