Steelers' Patrick Peterson Gives Surprising Confirmation That Mason Rudolph Will Start Against Seahawks

Will the Pittsburgh Steelers stick with the "hot hand" for Week 17 and start third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph? Or will starting quarterback Kenny Pickett play and regain his starter status? While Pickett has told the media that he is ready to take the field again, just a few weeks after a high ankle sprain and the subsequent tightrope surgery, Head Coach Mike Tomlin did not confirm he would start. But starting hybrid safety/cornerback Patrick Peterson apparently spilled the beans on his podcast and confirmed that Rudolph will be under center. 

Peterson co-hosts a podcast called All Things Covered with his cousin and former Steelers cornerback, Bryant McFadden. On a recent episode, they discussed who should come in to start at quarterback. 

There are some concerns that Pickett isn't 100% healed. He might reinjure himself or not be able to perform at his top level if so. Besides that, Rudolph had a career game with 290 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16. His performance against the Cincinnati Bengals was better than anything we have seen from Pickett, so how do you justify starting Pickett over Rudolph? 

Did The Steelers Already Pick The Starting Quarterback?

McFadden said that part of why Rudolph was so successful is because there were no expectations for his performance. In the past, Rudolph has struggled under pressure, but the last time he started a game was when Ben Roethlisberger was out with COVID-19 in 2021, nearly 800 days ago, and the last time he won a game he started was in 2019. 

The Steelers still have a shot at making the playoffs and in Week 17, they will face the Seattle Seahawks who are also hoping to make the postseason. This game will be critical and may come down to who makes the fewest mistakes. Peterson said that the key to winning the game, from his perspective, is to go out and do what they did against the Bengals - which is minimal penalties, no turnovers, and for the offense to be able to move the ball down the field effectively. McFadden asked Peterson if he knew who was starting for sure in the upcoming game.

"Yes, Mason is starting," said Peterson.

McFadden said that if Rudolph is starting, then Pickett must still not be healthy and asked if he practiced that day. Peterson said he isn't a doctor, so he can't answer if he is ready or not from a medical standpoint, but Pickett was on the field. When pressed further as to how much he practiced, Peterson said he wasn't sure.

"I did see him on the field, but I don't know if he took any reps. I told you, we be separate. Let me think, I don't remember seeing [Pickett] take any reps to be honest," added Peterson.

McFadden said they were just assessing whether Rudolph would start against Seattle or not and said that Peterson had confirmed that he would. This led to Peterson backing off of his definitive statement. Instead, he said he was just reiterating what "Coach [Tomlin] said." 

What Tomlin said was actually not that Rudolph would definitively start. Instead, he said that they would decide when they saw how Pickett was at the end of the week. This left the door open for it to be either quarterback. 

"We have the same mentality as we start this week, and obviously we have a great deal of comfort because of what we have seen in-stadium from Mason Rudolph, and that helps us. But we still really are in the same posture. He's [Rudolph] got the ball to start the week, and we'll see where Kenny is from a mobility perspective, and then kind of go from there and day by day based on the things we see in that perspective," said Tomlin during his recent press conference.

If Peterson misunderstood, he wouldn't have been the only one. A lot of the national media heard, but did not listen. Tweet after tweet went out saying that Rudolph was named the definitive starter. Some of those reporters must not know Tomlin very well. He rarely gives that definite of an answer, especially so early in the week. 

The Steelers certainly will not waltz away with an easy win against Seattle. Their hometown crowd is passionate and will fill the stadium, unlike other road games that have more Steelers fans than home team fans. It is also one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, the 12th man is very real in Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks have also been dealing with an injured starting quarterback. Geno Smith suffered a groin injury and was replaced by backup Drew Lock a few weeks back. Smith returned to play their Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans and they won 20-17. 

Both teams are currently 8-7 with the Steelers in third place in the AFC North and the Seahawks in second place in the NFC West. Both teams bounced back last week from a bit of a losing streak and both teams feel they have something to prove. This rematch of Super Bowl XL is always an exciting game. 

Who do you think will start at quarterback for the Steelers? Click to comment below. 

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