Mason Rudolph Considered A Career Change Before Re-Signing With Steelers

Things can change very quickly in the NFL.
This season we’ve seen quarterbacks around the league get unexpected opportunities due to injuries or poor play.
Last weekend, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph made the most of his opportunity.
Rudolph, making his first start since 2021, threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Steelers to a 34-11 victory over the Bengals.
But there was a time in the 2023 offseason when Rudolph thought he might never get that opportunity again.
On December 27, Rudolph announced to the media that he had updated his resume for the first time since his freshman year at Oklahoma State.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I wanted to have a plan B and think about plan B a little bit,” he said.
“Throughout your whole life, you just do one thing, get lost in thought, and just think, ‘I don’t think about it.
‘” “I had a little time to talk to my family about what I was interested in, but somewhere.
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I still had confidence that I would get a chance in.
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” Fortunately for the Steelers, they were the team that gave him a chance.
He seized that opportunity and now he’s leading the final push into the playoffs.
Why it wasn’t a certainty that he would spend another year in Pittsburgh They will be developing a starter to take over after Ben Roethlisberger retires, who was expected to become the next.
His turn under center was earlier than expected.
In his second season, Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Week 2.
Rudolph eventually finished with his 5-3 record as a starter, but his performances were mixed, and eventually in Week 12, Devlin replaced Hodges on the bench.
Even though the team struggled at the QB position in 2022.
He also received help from star receiver Diontae Johnson, but he did not see any playing time.
This led many to wonder if the Steelers would let him go in the offseason, since the first two QB spots on the Steelers’ depth chart were already filled.
Instead, they brought him back on a one-year deal worth just over $1 million.
Rudolph may not need to update his resume again next offseason.
As of now, Rudolph has a chance to secure his job after this season.
He is already expected to be the Steelers’ starter in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks.
If he has another solid performance, the Steelers will likely stick with him until the end of the season.
Regardless of how the next few games play out, it seems unlikely that Mitch Trubisky will be on the team’s roster in 2024.
He didn’t play well in either of his two seasons with the team and ended up sitting on the bench again, but the team could save just under $3 million in cap space by cutting him after this season.
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That way, if Rudolph does well in the next few weeks, there will be room on the roster.
Then he could spend next offseason competing with Kenny Pickett for the starting job instead of considering a career in commercial real estate.