Steelers Expected to Re-Sign Mason Rudolph
PITTSBURGH -- The rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers entire offseason hinges upon how their quarterback situation shakes out, with two or three spots on the roster waiting to be filled before the start of training camp.
As the Steelers search for a capable starting quarterback to get them over the hump, ESPN's Bill Barnwell believes they'll be able to land one of their top targets in Mason Rudolph, who finished the season strong as the starting quarterback and led them to a surprise playoff berth.
Barnwell put together a tiered list of the free agent quarterbacks available this offseason and included Rudolph in a group titled "Backups likely to earn roster spots," the lowest of the six tiers he assembled. The group included Josh Dobbs, Tyler Huntley, Nate Sudfeld, Mitch Trubisky and others.
"This final tier includes players who should be able to land spots on NFL rosters but who won't have more than a modicum of guaranteed money when they sign, meaning they'll have to compete for their roster spot in camp," Barnwell wrote. "Dobbs and Rudolph are the most conspicuously productive players in this bunch, but there wasn't much interest in Dobbs each of the times he came available in 2023. Rudolph's brief burst of production was out of line with his prior career performance, and he is likely to re-sign with the Steelers."
Barnwell predicts this group of quarterbacks will collectively sign for an average of $1.5 million per season per player.
Rudolph completed 74.65% of his passes for 716 yards and three touchdowns to no interceptions over three starts in the final three games of the regular season. The Steelers went 3-0 and cliched the seventh seed in the AFC playoffs with those victories.
The Steelers think of Rudolph more highly than Barnwell does. Both team owner Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin expressed their mutual desire to bring him back as a competitor for the starting job alongside 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett.
He certainly is a candidate to re-sign with the Steelers but Rudolph would be battling for the top spot on the depth chart, not a roster spot.
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