Head Coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are well underway in their preparation for the 2022 NFL season. We are all well aware of how this off-season and preseason are ones Tomlin has never experienced as a head coach. This includes a new general manager and front office, the continuation of rebuilding a weak offensive line, new defensive contributors, and of course, a room full of new quarterbacks.
In what few Steelers fans would have guessed maybe two years ago, four-year backup Mason Rudolph is the longest-tenured Steelers quarterback on the roster. With that said, one would consider Rudolph to be the favorite to win the starting job come September. But with the addition of Mitch Trubisky in March, along with 2021 Heisman-finalist and 2022 first round pick Kenny Pickett and 2022 seventh rounder, Chris Oladokun, there’s a lot of healthy competition being played out in camp before the team heads to Latrobe. But seeing as though Rudolph is the oldest quarterback in the room who was drafted by the Steelers, he talked some on Wednesday about how he’s been meshing with the hungry veteran Trubisky and eager rookies Pickett and Oladokun:
“They’ve [Pickett and Oladokun] been good. Their heads spin a little, but they have a lot of questions. They’ve picked things up quickly. I remember being a rookie and you see that hunger in both of them to kind of want to learn and to stay later and ask questions and whether they’re asking Mitch and I or Coach Sullivan, they’re hungry to learn.”
Steelers' QB Mason Rudolph takes a snap on Day 5 of OTA's (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
From what we’ve observed thus far amongst all the name changes, the Steelers are taking a ‘coach by committee’ approach to key areas. This includes the addition of David Corley as the assistant quarterbacks coach in helping Quarterbacks Coach Mike Sullivan in developing a young quarterback room. Without an old veteran in Ben Roethlisberger in the locker room, Sullivan and Corley have their hands full in how to get three quarterbacks who are new to the organization up to the Steelers standard while continuing to develop Rudolph as a possible starter.
Rudolph talked some about the help Sullivan has provided to the new group of quarterbacks and what it means to him to be around Sullivan:
“It’s great. He’s coached in this league a long time so he’s singing at a high level, he’s won Super Bowls, so having him is a plus having a guy like that in the room who has coached good quarterbacks and seeing how good football is played.”
In addition to the new names on the depth chart, the quarterback position in Pittsburgh is going through changes at every level, including new plays, terminology, and new ways of moving the ball down the field. Without having a large center of influence in Roethlisberger, Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada is looking to work with Sullivan and the quarterbacks to develop a fresh offensive scheme that was not successful in 2021. As a part of that, Rudolph joked there has been a bit more homework involved in this season’s preparation compared to past seasons:
“There’s a lot of changes. There’s tweaks, some things I’m excited about. There’s some new terminology that I’ve had to make some flash cards, do a little flash card studying at the house, but I think it’s all going to make us better and seeing some of the new concepts on the field, it gets you excited.”
A glaring subject within the NFL locker rooms is the assistance veterans provide young players. After the draft, we saw Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill proclaim “it isn’t his job to mentor” the Titans’ third round pick in Malik Willis. Thinking back to when the Steelers drafted Rudolph in 2018, Steelers fans may recall Roethlisberger saying something similar, but to a lesser degree. Therefore, with Rudolph being the veteran presence now in the quarterback room, he was asked what role he’s playing in the development of the rookies and younger players, in addition to what he listed on the practice field:
“Yea, we’ve had receivers informally ask questions and I think being the oldest guy here, it’s my job to help them out with whatever, whether they’re a rookie, or somebody who is just getting back and learning the new terminology, so it’s important.”
Before camp kicked off, Tomlin declared a prelude to the season preparation by saying he expects a “fierce quarterback battle.” We are still very early in the process, but expect Rudolph to find himself on the hot seat more than the other ‘irons in the fire’ at the quarterback position.
What do you think Rudolph is going to bring in 2022? Do you think he’ll land on the final roster? Let us know in the comments below!
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