Former Steelers Offensive Lineman Is Taking Credit For Mason Rudolph's Remarkable Comeback

The Pittsburgh Steelers found an unlikely hero late in the season in Mason Rudolph. Rudolph, who has been with the team since he was drafted in the third round in 2018, has been called on before, but has never responded quite like this. Now one of his former teammates, Alejandro Villanueva, says he is taking credit for the way Rudolph and his career bounced back. 

Recently, Villanueva joined another former teammate, Ramon Foster, on Foster's podcast The Ramon Foster Show, which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports. In the past, both Foster and Villanueva have talked about "that game" against the Cleveland Browns, the one that led to the huge on-field melee. They declared that Rudolph was 100% innocent of making any kind of racist comments as Browns defensive end Myles Garrett insisted he did. Garrett used that supposed comment as his excuse for smashing a helmet into Rudolph's head. 

Villanueva told Foster that he knew Rudolph was someone special when just one year later, he had to take the field and face Garrett and the Browns yet again. This was the COVID-19 season in 2020 and the Steelers were on their way to the playoffs. The Browns were hoping to make it themselves and needed to beat Pittsburgh to get in. Head Coach Mike Tomlin decided to sit many of his starters, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, thus giving Rudolph the start. 

"I remember thinking to myself, man this has got to be hard. This has got to be difficult for anybody to go through this and then face Myles Garrett at home. And if the Browns won, they will go into the playoffs and half of the Steelers starters are not there. We almost won that game and Mason played an incredible game. It was just amazing to see him so poised. When I saw Mason Rudolph play that game, I was very inspired, I was very proud of him and I thought he has something that a lot of people don't have, and that's guts," recalled Villanueva.

He went on to say that Rudolph was "completely overlooked" by the organization, albeit unintentionally. Roethlisberger retired and they brought in veteran Mitch Trubisky and drafted Kenny Pickett. Villanueva said that Rudolph was one of the last members of their group who was still on the team, certainly the only member on offense. He felt like he had grown into this "complete quarterback," but had no way to show his skills. 

Then Rudolph traveled down to Miami, Florida to visit Villanueva on the farm he now owns and operates. He said he and Rudolph spent time talking football together and Villanueva could see how much his football IQ had grown. 

"I would try to test him. I would question him on themes about offensive line play regarding protections and adjustments and he got it, he knows it all. He was speaking now at a very high level with the game of football and that's when I became a sports psychologist, and that's why I deserve all the credit. Coach [Mike] Tomlin owes me a check or something."

Of course, he added that no one can take credit for someone else's development. He wasn't out there throwing the ball for Rudolph, but he is grateful he had the opportunity to encourage him. 

After seeing Rudolph play this past season, both Foster and Villanueva were impressed with how settled he seems now. To them both, there was a marked difference between Rudolph's confidence in the pocket and Pickett's. They know this means the Steelers and Rudolph will have some big decisions to make during the offseason. 

Steelers Got A Surprise Quarterback Controversy

When Terry Bradshaw retired in 1983, it took a long time for the team to find their next franchise quarterback. While they had some solid games from some players, it wasn't until they drafted Roethlisberger in 2004 that they knew they had their guy. That is why it was a relief when it seemed they found someone immediately after Roethlisberger retired in Pickett. 

Pickett has struggled some over the past two seasons, however. There have been issues reading the field, finding open receivers, and making accurate throws. Is this normal quarterback development? Maybe. Is this the by-product of a horrendous offensive coordinator? Maybe. On top of that, his backup Trubisky was even worse. All of this, along with an injury to Pickett, gave Rudolph the shot he needed and he ran with it. 

Rudolph started the final three games of the regular season in 2023. He won those three games and gave Pittsburgh a shot at making the playoffs. Rudolph was able to breathe new life into a deflated team and now the organization will have to decide what to do. 

Midway through the 2023 season, Rudolph wasn't even sure if he was going to be playing football in 2024. He thought he might go into commercial real estate, but now it seems likely he will have offers from teams. While Tomlin has said that he would like the Steelers to retain Rudolph, it seems likely that the price tag has gone up a bit. 

What do you think about Rudolph and his future in Pittsburgh? Do you agree with Villanueva that he showed himself to be a complete quarterback? Click to comment below!

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