Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Arthur Moats hosts a podcast, The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke, and on his latest episode, he discusses the re-signing of several free agents. One of those is QB3 Mason Rudolph.
Screenshot from The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke Podcast
Rudolph has had a roller coaster of a career with the Steelers and may be one of the most polarizing players to date; fans seem to either love him or hate him. Those really strong feelings have created a lot of resentment regarding his continued spot on the team's roster. Moats feels that while some of Rudolph's situation is his own doing, he believes that he wasn't given a fair chance by the team or the fans.
Steelers' Rudolph: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?
The Steelers are going to have some decisions to make regarding their quarterback situation this off-season. Now that Kenny Pickett has been anointed the starter, it leaves Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky in less-than-ideal positions on the team. Trubisky has one year left on his contract, but there are rumors that he may demand a release from the team to seek a better situation.
Rudolph is a free agent this year. He was selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He has bounced around the depth chart since joining the team. In 2019, after an injury to starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, Rudolph was named the starter in Week 3. He was inconsistent at best (along with a concussion), and was relieved by QB3 Devlin "Duck" Hodges a couple of times.
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It is that fear of being replaced that Moats blames for Rudolph's struggles. While he agrees that if Rudolph's performance was better, he would not have been benched, Moats says the "short leash" mentality employed by the team psychologically impacted him:
"After that, drafting Kenny Pickett, bringing in Mitch Trubisky, signing Haskins, we were finding every way to either make it as hard as possible for Mason to be the heir to Ben Roethlisberger. Or we just flat outright never wanted him. I don't even feel like he still got a fair rap in 2019."
According to Moats, one reason Pickett continued to find success as a rookie is that he was not on that short leash, he did not have a backup breathing down his neck or the worry that he would get benched:
"We say, young players, give them time to figure it out, give them time to like, feel confident. We said with Kenny, he never felt like he was on a short leash. He never felt like he had to look over his shoulder. He never felt Mitch Trubisky-type pressure."
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Moats said that Rudolph wasn't given the same opportunities to settle into a system and take some ownership of it. While 2019 might have been his best shot (since he knew Roethlisberger wasn't returning that season), he wasn't fully handed the reins. Young QB's will make mistakes as Pickett has, and they have to have the opportunity to work through them.
For all of these reasons, Moats believes it is in Rudolph's best interest to move on:
"I personally don't think that Mason should come back. I think a change of scenery is good for him. Let's get him a clean slate. I think he's still taunted enough, that should [be] a good opportunity to compete somewhere either as a starter or as a legitimate backup. It's hard to stay in the same organization and want to still feel like you have a legitimate chance to be here or you're part of this family when they keep doing the things that they do. As an outsider, it's a lot easier to look at it from a different perspective."
Is Moats right? Have the Steelers kept Rudolph feeling like he is always fighting for his life on the team? And is that a bad thing? Is that different than other players? Should the Steelers keep Rudolph or let him go? Click to comment below.
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