Report: Titans Land Former Steelers Quarterback Mason Rudolph On A 1-Year Contract

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mason Rudolph have officially ended their relationship after a rocky six years. Rudolph helped lead the Steelers back to the playoffs in 2023 when he took over for a struggling Mitch Trubisky. From there, he'd keep the spot over starter Kenny Pickett and would start his first career playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. But that's where the fairytale story would end. Now Rudolph has a new team. 

According to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, the Tennessee Titans have reached an agreement with Rudolph on a one-year contract. The deal reportedly is worth up to $3.62 million with incentives. Rudolph figures to back-up second-year quarterback, Will Levis. 

There were multiple reports about Rudolph the past few days, saying that his time with the Steelers was over unless something unusual happened. Sources also said that multiple teams were interested in Rudolph a year after he remained unsigned for nearly two months into free agency. 

The Titans are an interesting landing spot for Rudolph. Levis had a very up and down rookie season once he was thrust into the starting lineup. He started nine games and threw eight touchdown passes with four interceptions. 

The Titans had been connected to several veteran back-up quarterbacks, including Jameis Winston, but Winston agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday. 

Steelers Fail Themselves And Rudolph

Rudolph had a rollercoaster career in Pittsburgh. As a second-year player, he was sent in to replace an injured Ben Roethlisberger, but a shot to the jaw against Baltimore early on, and later the infamous helmet incident in Cleveland, would derail his season. He'd eventually be replaced by Devlin "Duck" Hodges and be banished to the bench for several seasons thereafter. 

A tie against the winless Detroit Lions in 2021 put his career in further doubt. He was supposed to get a fair chance in 2022, but the team quickly signed Trubisky and drafted Pickett - again, pushed to the bottom of the depth chart. Then he became the hero Steelers fans never believed they'd see in 2023. 

There's a lot of what if's when it comes to his time in Pittsburgh. It mostly just amounts to a wasted third round draft pick that could've been used elsewhere during the final years of Roethlisberger's career. But the thing that Rudolph deserves the most credit for is doing it all in the most professional way possible. 

Good luck, Mason. 

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