Steelers Legendary QB Ben Roethlisberger Argues Why The Team Would Consider Pulling Mason Rudolph For Kenny Pickett

The Pittsburgh Steelers rode the Mason Rudolph hype train to the playoffs as the former third-string quarterback relieved a struggling Mitch Trubisky as the team's starting quarterback. Rudolph played three games and had three wins with no interceptions to show for it. He's seemingly revived hopes of continuing his NFL career over a potential career in commercial real estate. Despite being a large part of getting the Steelers a playoff date with the Buffalo Bills, Rudolph looks like a big reason they'll be going home.

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hosted a livestream of his podcast Footbahlin with co-host Spencer Te'o during the Steelers vs. Bills game and very early on during the contest, he thought it would take at least three picks in the first half to see Mike Tomlin replace Rudolph with Kenny Pickett. Rudolph finished the first half 8 for 16  as the offense largely struggled to wake up in the first half. He threw an interception with the Steelers in the red zone to end a promising drive. He finally managed to produce some points finding Diontae Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:39 left to go in the second quarter. Roethlisberger said from his understanding of Tomlin that he might just do it with the team trailing 21-7. 

"Coach has been known, you've got no tomorrow, you've got nothing to lose," he said. "Unless you're going to get a spark, Kenny [Pickett] hasn't played in three weeks. What kind of spark are you going to get from that, hasn't played in a few weeks and it's not like he was playing out his mind before."   

While Roethlisberger originally started saying it would take quite a bit to get Pickett into the contest, he eventually started talking himself into it. He wondered about maybe utilizing Pickett's athleticism on certain plays to get him involved in his first-ever NFL postseason game. He said still the game plan was put in for Rudolph to play the week, not Pickett. 

While Rudolph came in and helped discover the deep ball in the Steelers offense, the one thing he hasn't had to do in his latest short tenure as an NFL starter is play from behind. Te'o brought that up to Roethlisberger, the author of his fair share of fourth quarter heroics in his playing time in Pittsburgh. 

Steelers' Roethlisberger Not Sold On A Switch To Pickett 

Despite being the author of comebacks against the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens in Pickett's rookie season, Roethlisberger was hesitant to say the team was going to seriously consider a change. T'eo tried to push the two-time Super Bowl champion, but he stayed non-committal. 

Te'o wondered if because it seems there was a bit of fire to Pickett when he was asked questions by the media about being the backup to Rudolph when he came back from his ankle injury. He asked the former Steelers quarterback about what he thought about Pickett potentially bringing a fire to the team. 

"Maybe," Roethlisberger said. "But I don't think so."

Rudolph will probably get more of a leash after showing what he can do in the final weeks of the season. He's been a spark for why they got to this game in the first place. Pickett hasn't played in weeks, there is that, but if you're going to find out what kind of quarterback he is, why not test him when you have absolutely nothing left to lose? It's not like the game is going swimmingly with Rudolph, who isn't signed for next year. The Steelers' season will likely come down to what Rudolph can salvage, but should it be Pickett?

Do you think Pickett should play with the score the way it is? Should you be thinking about next year in a playoff game? Comment below!

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