Steelers Roethlisberger to Have Evaluation; Mason Rudolph Backup

PITTSBURGH -- The quarterback position in Pittsburgh continues to be the high point of news surrounding the future of the Steelers. After a year without Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff are looking forward to evaluating the future of the position and the return of possibly all three of their play callers.

Last throwing a football in September prior to undergoing surgery on his throwing elbow, Roethlisberger is set to see his first primary update of the offseason in February. Tomlin confirmed the quarterback be evaluated somewhere near the first of the month in a checkup that should provide some sort outlook to his return.

"We've been taking it one step at a time, I think we're going to get whatever information as it pertains to what you ask, probably around that time," Tomlin said.

As for an uncertain timeline for a guarantee, Tomlin isn't looking past the first step. In the midst of what will be a long offseason, the Steelers don't have pressure to go out and sign a veteran immediately but rather evaluate the quarterback room they have in house.

"There's a wide margin for error in the offseason," he said. "You've got a 90-man roster, it's not going to be an issue, us dealing with his availability or lack there of."

Hoping the return of a future Hall of Famer fixes problems within an offense that scored 10 points in their final three games, Pittsburgh isn't ready to declare Roethlisberger the savior of any anything.

"I don't have the answer to that as I stand here right now," Tomlin said. "I think you go into it just ready to peel back all the layers and analyze every aspect of play. Yeah, some of it relates to Ben and his presence and you understand what his presence means but largely you're just analyzing 'it'. We've got areas to improve in across the board, positionally, schematically, and I look forward to doing so as it relates to Ben and how it does not pertain to Ben as well."

In the absence of Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph finished 5-3 with 1,765, 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. After missing the team's final game with a shoulder injury, Rudolph will spend the next 6-8 weeks recovering from surgery.

As for his status next season, Tomlin made it simple - he's the backup.

"I'm comfortable with Mason Rudolph, I'm disappointed that he missed the amount of time that he did," Tomlin said. "Injury's a part of the game. He had an opportunity in there to grow and grow in a lot of ways and get a lot of experience. He missed some time due to injury and performance and so forth but I am comfortable with Mason Rudolph."

Devlin Hodges enters the new year as a free agent but could be in the Steelers mix to bring back next summer. Starting six games in place of Rudolph, Hodges brought 'Duck Mania' to Pittsburgh in a season already full of wild headlines.

"This is a guy that really had an awesome opportunity to play, opportunity to grow, I believe he did those things," Tomlin said about his future. "How much he grows and what it means in terms of his evolution as a player, we're going to be writing that and he's going to be writing that as we move forward."

Tomlin admitted he wasn't aware of the current free agent market for veteran quarterbacks but didn't rule out evaluating it after he goes through the process of meeting with players and breaking down the season.

A timeline for Roethlisberger has yet to be determined, and likely won't until later in the offseason. Right now, Tomlin is letting the team's medical staff make the decisions.

"I lean on the expertise of the medical professionals," Tomlin said. "What I want is secondary to that."