Dulac: Steelers Fans Shouldn't Expect An Intense Bidding War Over Mason Rudolph

The Pittsburgh Steelers currently only have one quarterback officially on the roster, third-year player, Kenny Pickett. After spending two years with the team, Mitch Trubisky was released, after delivering subpar performances nearly every time he was on the field. Then there is longtime Steelers backup, Mason Rudolph, who’s been with the team since he was drafted in 2018. This offseason, he is a free agent and given the fact that he provided the best quarterback play the Steelers had all of 2023, he has become quite a controversial topic. 

The big question is will the Steelers keep Rudolph? The team has said they would like to, but it is a business. Rudolph has said he would like to, but again, it is a business. He had a run of good games and if he can financially capitalize upon that, he likely will. 

This has many local media personalities, including former Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster predicting his contract. Foster recently said that he thinks Rudolph could go for as much as $12 million a year. His podcast counterpart Dejan Kovacevic disagrees, thinking the market for Rudolph is more like $7-$8 million a year. 

What we don't know yet is what other teams are interested in Rudolph and whether that will lead to some kind of bidding war. One Steelers insider scoffs at that unlikely idea.

Steelers Will Not Engage In A Bidding War For Rudolph

Rudolph, his contract, and his future in Pittsburgh have been hot topics of late. Foster is far from the only media person to bring him up. ESPN's Brooke Pryor recently wrote that "nobody is going to anoint him," it doesn't matter where he goes, he isn't good enough to start. 

Steelers beat reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, writes a popular "chat column" and the topic of Rudolph, as well as the quarterback situation in general, has been a hot one. Recently, Dulac wrote that the organization is divided over whether they should start Pickett or Rudolph if he returns in 2024. 

In his latest chat, he said he doesn't think the Steelers will have much trouble getting Rudolph back if they want him. This was in response to a fan who is surprised that other fans are just assuming that Rudolph will be back and asked Dulac if it was likely that Rudolph would get offers from another team. 

"It's more likely he will return because the Steelers want him to return. But, to your point, I wouldn't rule out him signing elsewhere either, but I would caution there is not going to be a bidding war for his services or that he's going to receive some type of outlandish deal."

During that same chat, another fan wrote in and asked Dulac if he believes that Head Coach Mike Tomlin really wants Rudolph back because he has buried him on the depth chart over and over again. Dulac said that was a really good question. It is a fair point. Rudolph filled in several times for an aging Ben Roethlisberger and while he was serviceable at times, he wasn't ever what we saw in the last three games of 2023. 

That begs the question, has Rudolph just improved that much, or did the stars just align for him those days? If Rudolph had developed into this excellent quarterback, how did Tomlin miss that? Or how did the quarterback coach fail to tell him? Tomlin frequently talks about how he will always play the best player, he holds no loyalty to the depth chart or draft position. This has been evidenced by him splitting the running back roll between Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. 

All of that aside, Dulac has been very vocal about the fact that he believes the Steelers will stick with Pickett in 2024. Regardless of the reasons for his poor performances - that he needed more time or that his development was stunted by the horrific play-calling of former Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, he will get one more shot.  

Do you think the Steelers will bring Rudolph back? Click to comment below. 

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