Steelers' Reunion With Undervalued Mason Rudolph Could Be Extremely Team-Friendly According To ESPN

The Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback room certainly had an interesting year in 2023. Kenny Pickett had a great preseason, followed by a mediocre regular season that ended when he hurt his ankle against the Arizona Cardinals. It isn't as simple as saying an injury cost Pickett the remainder of the 2023 season either. He could have returned to the lineup, and if Mitch Trubisky had not permanently damaged his career in the two-and-a-half starts while Pickett was injured, he would have.

A funny thing happened on the road back to the Steelers' starting quarterback, Mason Rudolph, who was forced into the starting lineup. Rudolph was buried on the depth chart and the last person that Mike Tomlin wanted to turn to, but the only other option was Trace McSorley. Rudolph defied expectations and led the Steelers to three straight wins as the starting quarterback. He also kept Pickett planted on the bench, despite his insistence that he was healthy enough to return.

Rudolph was the best quarterback on the Steelers roster at the end of 2023. He became a pending free agent after Pittsburgh lost the AFC Wild Card game to the Buffalo Bills, 31-17. Pickett is currently the only quarterback under contract on the Steelers roster. On Tuesday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell released an article dividing the free agent quarterback class into tiers. Despite his impressive performance down the stretch, Rudolph found himself all the way down to tier six.

“[Joshua] Dobbs and Rudolph are the most conspicuously productive players in this bunch,” Barnwell wrote about tier six. “There wasn’t much interest in Dobbs each of the times he came available in 2023. Rudolph’s brief burst of productions was out of line with his prior career performance, and he is likely to re-sign with the Steelers.”

Barnwell identifies tier six quarterbacks as players who will command salaries of around $1.5 million annually. That is substantially below Rudolph's predicted market. The Athletic identified him as the sixth-best free agent quarterback available. It is good news for the Steelers if Barnwell's prediction is true and Rudolph can be signed on a team-friendly contract. 

The NFL is starved for passable quarterback play and multiple teams in the playoff race had to turn to backups down the stretch. Joe Flacco came off his couch and led the Cleveland Browns to a playoff berth. Rudolph had not played a down for two years and came off the bench to resurrect the Steelers as a playoff team. There is no disputing that Rudolph saved his career with the final three games of last season. The Steelers' third-string quarterback had no offers in free agency after the 2022 season and signed with Pittsburgh out of necessity. 

NFL history is full of quarterbacks who got paid far more for less production. Matt Flynn and Rob Johnson leap to mind as players who got huge contracts for little more than one good game. Jimmy Garoppolo parlayed a few good games for the New England Patriots while Tom Brady was suspended into a multi-million dollar contract. 

Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gets Stern Reprimand From Peter King

Experts like Peter King have called the Steelers' plan to potentially run it back in 2024 with Rudolph and Pickett unwise. However, it might be too good to pass up if the Steelers can sign Rudolph to a contract that was less than what they were paying Trubisky. It would also be a similar contract to the prove-it deals that have been floated for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields by those clamoring for new blood in the Pittsburgh quarterback room. 

Quarterbacks are expensive, and if Arthur Smith is comfortable with Rudolph as an alternative to Pickett, it could free up money to sign an impact cornerback like Jaylon Johnson or L'Jarius Sneed to pair with Joey Porter Jr. It would undoubtedly give Omar Khan and Tomlin options to continue restocking a depleted roster without paying the tab for a top tier quarterback in 2024.

What do you think, Steeler Nation? If the price for Rudolph is less than what Trubisky got paid in 2023, should it be Khan's first and only call? Please comment below, or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq. 

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