Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Monday the team is “comfortable” with entering the season with quarterback Mason Rudolph as the starter.
Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach said Monday at the NFL annual meetings the team is very comfortable starting the 2025 season with Mason Rudolph as the starter.
“That’s why we brought him back,” Tomlin said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “I’m very comfortable with that. We’ve been there before. He’s a very capable guy.”
This will not preclude the Steelers from continuing to pursue veteran Aaron Rodgers, who visited the Steelers facility over a week ago and spent six hours with the front office and coaching staff.
Tomlin said they have no deadline in place for Rodgers to make a decision and they are willing to wait it out to see if the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player wants to wear the black and yellow.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan said Monday it is a “safe assumption” if the team cannot sign Rodgers, they would go after another veteran to give Rudolph some help. Skylar Thompson, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, is the other quarterback on the roster.
Khan backed up Tomlin in terms of having confidence in Rudolph. Khan said he has a “lot of confidence” in the former Steelers backup. The Steelers re-signed him as a free agent this season to a two-year, $7.5 million deal. Rudolph played last season with the Tennessee Titans.
“We had a need at the position, as you guys know, and he was available and had an interest in coming back,” Khan said. “Our experience with Mason has been relatively positive, so he made sense.”
Last season, Rudolph was 1-4 in five starts with the Titans. However, he did well with the Steelers prior to that. He came up on the winning end of three consecutive starts to finish the 2023 season, before losing in the first-round of the playoffs.
In the four starts, including the playoff game, he tossed five touchdown passes with only one interception. He averaged 236 yards passing per game.
Tomlin said he is looking forward to building off of the ending of Rudolph’s first chapter with the Steelers.
“Anytime you experience something with somebody, there’s growth, and I acknowledge it in that regard,” Tomlin said. “Certainly the way he smiled in the face of adversity and delivered for us was significant, but not that I was shocked by it or don’t think it was within his framework or capabilities. We’re excited about having him back.”
It’s a bit stunning to some Steelers fans … Comfort with Rudolph? “Whatever” with Rodgers?
There’s a lot to unpack here.
