Former Oklahoma State Quarterback Named Pittsburgh Steelers Starter
With things going south in Pittsburgh as the Steelers have lost three straight games, they're turning to former Oklahoma State star quarterback Mason Rudolph in their next matchup.
Kenny Pickett is dealing with an ankle injury that's likely to keep him out. Mitch Trubisky was the quarterback to replace him, but that didn't work out, so they're turning toward the former Cowboy, who's been in the NFL since 2017.
"As I stand here today, Mason Rudolph is the guy with the ball," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters.
Rudolph has been with the Steelers for the entirety of his career. He's got eight games of starting experience, going 5-3 in those three games as he was replacing Ben Roethlisberger in 2019. Formerly the backup, Rudolph has started ten games in his NFL career and is now the third string on the Steelers' depth chart with Trubisky coming to the team in 2022.
"[Rudolph is] a veteran guy. He's a backup, but he's also a veteran guy. He's been in our program a long time. He's here for those reasons. We've got a great deal of comfort with him," Tomlin continued.
The Steelers are looking for an offensive spark in Rudolph after struggling to put up points as of late. The former Cowboy now has the potential to bring that spark and get the Steelers' record above .500.
"Why are we making the change? We don't like what we're looking at in the consistency of it. What I mean is we're not scoring enough points," Tomlin said. "Particularly as we move into December football, you've got to score more than 12, 14, 16 points in games this time of year. You've got to assume that others are doing the same. The engineering of victory is not going to be fluid if you're not doing those things."
Rudolph played at Oklahoma State from 2014 to 2017, putting up 13,618 passing yards and throwing 92 touchdown passes to his 26 interceptions. With a 63 percent completion percentage, the quarterback was an incredible player in his four-year career in Stillwater.
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