The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to shake off the grime of an ugly 2-6 start to the 2022 season. It has been a tough road with a lot of twists and turns, and has ultimately led them to a 2-6 record through 9 weeks and certainly not looking like a playoff hopeful as of this moment. Going into Week 10 however, it looks as if they are taking a different approach and Mason Rudolph, who has been the number 3 quarterback thus far, will ascend to the number 2 role heading into Sunday's matchup.
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Rudolph came into the 2022 off-season atop the quarterback depth chart. This would quickly dissolve with the signing of Mitch Trubisky and the drafting of Kenny Pickett. The three had a position battle in training camp, but none really considered Rudolph to be the one who would become the starter. Alas, the outcome everyone predicted happened and Trubisky was named starter, Pickett his backup, and Rudolph was left to hold the clipboard.
Now, here we are. Pickett supplanted Trubisky by Week 4, and the Steelers offense is bottom 5 in the league in total offense. There are many factors as to why they have been playing this poor; a rookie signal caller, head scratching play calling, and a porous run game. It’s hard to point a finger at any one thing. It’s been a mess.
The team seems to now be trying something new heading into this Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Per Mark Kaboly, Rudolph has gotten somewhere between 90-100% of the number 2 reps this week at practice, suggesting he could potentially be the backup to Pickett this week. It wouldn’t be anything new for Rudolph. He was Ben Roethlisberger’s backup from 2019 to last year. He is comfortable in this role and has shown his professionalism time and time again in this role.
Steelers' Rudolph Says Don’t Look To Much Into This
Despite this indication, Rudolph claims that this was all just to give the Steelers defense a good look in practice this week. This is due to his play style resembling Andy Dalton’s skill set more so than Trubisky, who mimicked As Taysom Hill in scout looks this week.
Rudolph says everything will be status quo this week, he had this to say when asked about the situation:
“Mitch is the backup, and him doing more of the running the ball this week isn’t going to change that. It was a good week of practice, and we both gave the defense a good look.”
So that seems to settle that. However, due to the reps going that way and head coach Mike Tomlin’s predicament in being 2-6 and seemingly ready to make changes, until the inactive list is released, there can be some speculation to be had that Rudolph ends up in pads.
Trubisky was asked about this week's practice, here is what he had to say:
“I am always ready mentally. There are some things with the timing and stuff on the play call sheet, but if I have to get in there, I will be comfortable with the plays I have the most reps with. I watched the same amount of film as I always do. For me, I just did a little more running than normal, but I am still prepared and ready to go.”
“You don’t get a lot of reps when you are the No. 2 quarterback. That’s just the way it is. I think I had a good week of practice with the reps I got.”
So unless something crazy happens, it seems it will be status quo. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is how Pickett plays. Coming off his first bye week in the NFL, he will look to improve upon his performance thus far. He said he went over film and picked out things he saw himself doing wrong.
This weekend will be Pickett and the offense's first time to turn a new page and start putting up some points, and putting this team in a better position to win football games.
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