Mason Rudolph Addresses Future With Steelers
ORCHARD PARK -- The Pittsburgh Steelers lost on Wild Card Weekend, 31-17 to the Buffalo Bills on the road, signaling the start of another early offseason which brings a host of questions about how next year's squad will be built.
One of those questions is what quarterback Mason Rudolph, who started the last four games of the season for the Steelers and led them on a late surge into the playoffs, will do as he enters free agency.
"I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've been my only home for six years," Rudolph said. "We'll see what happens. It's not really my decision. A lot of it's out of my control so we'll see what happens."
Rudolph completed 53 of 71 passes (74%) for 716 yards and three touchdowns over the final three games of the regular season, all wins for the Steelers. He finished this season on a sour note, completing 16 of 28 attempts for 187 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a frustrating loss to the Bills.
He was proud of what the offense was able to do as a unit over their final four games of this season. They averaged 24.5 points and 369 yards of offense per game with Rudolph as the starting quarterback, both above the Steelers' average marks for the season as a whole but the cohesiveness is what stood out to him.
"I think right now - obviously, the plan was to come here and get a win and we fell short, fell short to a great team," Rudolph said. "But I think I was proud of what we as an offense put on tape the past few weeks with just the way we celebrated, the way guys cheered for each other, the run game was working, the receivers were rolling. ... We had chemistry, we had belief and we had love for one another."
The Steelers have Kenny Pickett, their 2022 first-round pick who started all 12 games he appeared in this season, and Mitch Trubisky under contract for the next two seasons. But the Steelers could opt to cut Trubisky before the start of next season and avoid a $7,556,666 cap hit in 2024.
Pittsburgh's front office has some important decisions to make during the offseason in forming their next quarterback room and Rudolph's moves in free agency will play a major role in how the team approaches roster building. And with so many questions swirling, Rudolph didn't have any insight into what he hopes to do.
"I have no idea what's going to happen. None of us in there know what's going to happen tomorrow, much less next year," Rudolph said. "I'm sort of - yeah, I'm still thinking about the game and the loss and it hurts and it stings. ... That's what's on the forefront of the mind right now."
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