Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Monday at the NFL owners meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. that the organization are “comfortable” with Mason Rudolph as their starting quarterback.
Hamlin said (per ESPN): “Mason is not a kid. He’s been around, been in multiple systems and situations. That’s why we brought him back. I’m comfortable with that. We’ve been there before. He’s a very capable guy … we had a really productive day. He’s been in this thing a long time. I’ve been in this thing a long time. But there’s no substitute for intimacy and spending time together and getting to know one another in a non-competitive environment. So, that was really good. But I don’t have any new updates in terms of where the process is. We’ll see where it leads us.”
Rudolph, a third-round pick by the Steelers in the 2018 NFL Draft, completed 63.7% of his throws for 4,615 yards, 28 touchdowns and 20 interceptions over the first 29 appearances of his career. The QB spent last season with the Tennessee Titans, and signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Steelers earlier this month.
General manager Omar Khan added that the Steelers plan to have four quarterbacks on their roster in training camp (currently, Rudolph and former Miami Dolphins backup Skylar Thompson are the only quarterbacks on their roster): “We always go to training camp with four quarterbacks and we have 2 under contract right now, so all options are on the table through free agency, trade or draft, obviously.”
The Steelers, who decided not to re-sign 2024 starter Russell Wilson, remain interested in free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who visited the team March 21. Regarding a potential Rodgers deal, Tomlin said the Steelers do not have a deadline: “I don’t know that we’ve approached it from a deadline perspective. Certainly, as I mentioned, you’d like to have settled circumstances, but deadlines don’t often bring that to a head. He’s a free agent; as you guys know, he came to visit last Friday. We had a really productive day. He’s been in this thing a long time. I’ve been in this thing a long time. But it’s no substitute for, you know, intimacy and spending time together and getting to know one another in a non-competitive environment. And so that was really good. But I don’t have any new updates in terms of where the process is. We’ll see where it leads us.”
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