Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett suffered his second concussion of the season on an illegal hit from Baltimore Ravens linebacker, Roquan Smith that was not penalized. It has been ignored by the NFL during Week 14. Mitch Trubisky in relief, moved the team down the field, but threw three interceptions deep in Ravens territory in a 16-14 loss that doomed the Steelers 2022 slim playoff hopes. Trubisky and third string quarterback, Mason Rudolph were declared 2 and 2A by head coach, Mike Tomlin, earlier this week.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation.com (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
“If he’s [Pickett] unable to work, we’ll divvy those reps up between Mitch and Mason,” Tomlin said. “We’ll play both guys in a practice setting in an effort to make a determination what’s best as we lean in on the latter part of the work.”
Pickett has not been officially ruled out for Sunday, but it is a long shot that he will play after a second concussion in two months. The NFL concussion protocol has been under fire all season and the rookie returned to the field for a series before being pulled. Matt Canada may have tipped the Steelers hand that they are going with Trubisky as the starter on Sunday if Pickett cannot play prompting a reaction from Rudolph:
“I love this team, well at least my teammates,” Rudolph said.
Diontae Johnson certainly is lobbying for a Rudolph return to the field. He got in a locker room altercation with Trubisky at halftime of the New York Jets game that led to him losing his starting quarterback job. Johnson somehow has managed to get 4 to 5 times the targets of any other receiver over the last few games and possibly being without the rookie signal-caller, he is putting his eggs in the Rudolph basket hoping to keep his target share.
Diontae Johnson wants to see Mason Rudolph play. That’s “his guy”…shouldn’t “his guy” be the quarterback the Steelers used a first round pick on. Not the bench warmer? Watch. pic.twitter.com/9l6eww2Mno
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) December 15, 2022
Rudolph and his supporters feel like he hasn’t been given a fair opportunity in 2022 to win the job. He didn’t compete in the preseason with first unit and was relegated to mop up duty after the show Pickett put on against the Seattle Seahawks to close the first preseason game. The sour grapes are out of place, because he also previously blamed Ben Roethlisberger for not being a good mentor and the job was his to lose in 2019.
NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 25: Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up before a game against the Tennessee Titans during week three of preseason at Nissan Stadium on August 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Steelers defeated the Titans 18-6. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The Steelers made no secret the last few years that they were ready to move on from Roethlisberger and if Rudolph had played at an above average level in 2019, he probably would have earned the starting job. He did not and the Steelers saw the future last season when he started against a woeful Detroit Lions team. They could only manage a tie at home. It wasn’t all his fault, but he certainly didn’t transcend in what was his last opportunity.
Rudolph’s contract will expire, and he will hit the open market. Not one team in the NFL wanted to trade for him after he sank to third on the depth chart, and it will be an uphill battle to convince a team to give him a shot as a backup quarterback if he continues to bash the Steelers brass publicly as his time with the team winds down.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you really want to see a lame duck Mason Rudolph play the rest of the season if the Steelers have no intention of bringing him back? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
