3 Pittsburgh Steelers who could be cut before Week 1
By Randy Gurzi
Pittsburgh Steelers potential cut No. 1: Mason Rudolph, QB
Pick Analysis. QB. Steelers. player. 55. Scouting Report. Mason Rudolph. 1
There was a time when Mason Rudolph was considered the heir to Ben Roethlisberger — Big Ben even got furious when the team drafted the Oklahoma State product back in 2019. And since joining Pittsburgh, Rudolph has had a chance to show what he can do as he had eight starts as a rookie and one more in each of the past two seasons.
The Steelers went 5-3 that first season with him under center but his numbers weren’t overly impressive. They declined some since then — even though the sample size shrank considerably. Overall, he has a completion percentage of just 61.5 with 2,366 yards and a 16-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Pittsburgh was also just 0-1-1 in his past two starts.
Clearly, they weren’t convinced he could take over since they added two potential starters this offseason. First was Mitchell Trubisky, the former starter for the Chicago Bears who was a reserve in Buffalo this past season.
Then, they took Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft, making the former Pittsburgh Panther the lone Round 1 pick at the position this year.
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Right now, it’s not clear who will start but it is clear that Trubisky and Pickett are the No. 1 and No. 2 options. That could lead to the Steelers deciding to move on from Rudolph.