Just prior to the start of the NFL Draft a month ago, the Steelers made a show of good faith in Mason Rudolph, signing him to a two-year contract extension through the end of the 2022 season.
It was an interesting move since the team did not select another quarterback in the draft and because Rudolph now is the only quarterback on the team's roster under contract after this season.
Rudolph, entering his fourth season with the Steelers, took it as a vote of confidence in what the team is seeing from him.
"I think it’s always good to get a vote of confidence from your team," Rudolph said Tuesday, as the Steelers opened their third week of OTA sessions here at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "I think my outlook, my approach is proving myself every day, whether that’s in an OTA, where we’re really only doing 7-on-7 live, or training camp or throughout the season. It hasn’t changed my mindset. The vote of confidence is encouraging, and Pittsburgh is a place where I want to be for a long time. I love the whole organization here. It’s home. That was exciting, but it doesn’t change my approach."
Rudolph played sparingly in his third season with the Steelers. He made just one start in 2020 as Ben Roethlisberger's backup, that coming in a meaningless regular-season finale in Cleveland. Playing with a number of veteran players sitting out, he nearly helped the Steelers pull off an upset, throwing for 315 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the 24-22 loss.
His only other playing time last season came in mop-up duty. But that one start gave the Steelers confidence that Rudolph can at least be in the mix to take over the reigns when Roethlisberger, now 39 and signed only through the end of this season, calls it quits.
He might not be the quarterback of the future, but he'll get a chance. And that's all he asks.
"That’s my goal, to be a starting quarterback in this league and for our team," Rudolph said. "I’m working toward that goal every single day. I can only control myself and the way I prepare and the way I approach and play in OTAs and camp. That’s on the forefront of my mind. I’m not worried about ’22 or anything like that. I’m trying to live in the moment and be the best I can for my team."
It's the right attitude to take and one Rudolph has had since the Steelers selected him in the third round of the 2018 draft. He didn't play a snap as a rookie, serving as the No. 3 quarterback, then beat out Landry Jones for the No. 2 spot in 2019.
With Roethlisberger missing most of the season with an elbow injury, Rudolph made eight starts, leading the Steelers to a 5-3 record. But he also suffered a concussion in an overtime loss to the Ravens, a season-ending collar bone injury in Week 16 against the Jets and was benched at one point in favor of undrafted Devlin Hodges. It was an interesting season to say the least.
But one thing you'll never hear anyone say about Rudolph is that he isn't prepared. He studies. He wants to be not just good, but great.
That's why he has submerged himself in learning Matt Canada's offense.
"There’s a lot of carry over from last year, things we installed early on," Rudolph said. "It wasn’t the whole package or the entire offense was not in last year, but the basic terminology was there. Josh (Dobbs), Ben and I have a good feel for that. But there is a lot of new. Without talking in detail, it has taken some study time. The past three years, we’ve had the same terminology with adding a couple of concepts each year. It took some time. It took some flash cards to be written to study up. But it’s been fun. Matt’s got a lot of great concepts.
"He’s bringing a lot of energy to our offense. He’s very detail-oriented. He’s a great teacher. He’ll be out there and he teaches. It’s his baby. It’s his offense, so he knows it. He’s been great giving us direct answers."
You can bet Rudolph and the rest of the quarterbacks have had questions. But one thing Rudolph has learned not to question is the process in general. He's seen the way things work in recent years in the NFL. Quarterbacks -- even franchise quarterbacks -- have been on the move more so than ever before in recent years.
Heck, he needs look no further than his own draft class. Two of the five quarterbacks selected ahead of him -- Sam Darnold by the Jets and Josh Rosen by the Cardinals -- are already on different teams. And they were both top-10 picks. Even Tom Brady has changed teams. That's why he appreciated getting his one-year, $5-million extension completed with the Steelers this offseason.
It was a show of faith.
"I don’t think you ever really have any clarity or any idea what any team in this league is going to do year to year," Rudolph said. "You have to make the best decision for yourself in the moment. I knew I wanted to be a Steeler, stay in Pittsburgh, and I’ve got as good a chance as any to accomplish my goals. That’s how I looked at it. I don’t get caught up in scenarios. I control myself in the way that I play and the way I work."
The rest? It will fall into place when it happens.
• Minkah Fitzpatrick was asked what happened with the Steelers' defense in the playoff loss to the Browns, but he expanded on that and made it more about what happened to the team's defense when it faltered down the stretch, when the team finished the season 1-4.
"Part of it was that we were missing our two starting inside linebackers," Fitzpatrick said when asked why the Steelers struggled against two and three-tight end packages. "Devin (Bush) and (Robert) Spillane got hurt later in the season, so we had to bring in guys that didn’t understand the playbook as well. Teams attacked that. When you spread them out, you have three to the strength and two to the weak side. The guys who were there were linebackers. And the guys we had there were new guys, guys who didn’t understand the concept 100 percent.
"Teams kind of exposed that. It goes back to the execution thing. That’s all it boils down to at the end of the day, executing, lining up and doing what you’re supposed to do."
Spillane, however, was back for the loss against the Browns. The Steelers were, however, still without Bush and were missing Joe Haden in that game.
It isn't a ringing endorsement for the guys who replaced them at times, whether that was Avery Williamson or Marcus Allen at linebacker, or Justin Layne or James Pierre at corner.
The Steelers will get Bush back this season and drafted Buddy Johnson in the fourth round of the draft, perhaps making Allen expendable, but with Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton no longer with the team, Layne and Pierre are battling for more playing time.
"You can tell they have both spent time in the playbook," Fitzpatrick said. "It's going to be a good battle."
• Rudolph obviously isn't the only quarterback with some pedigree on the roster. Dwayne Haskins, a first-round pick of Washington in 2019, was signed by the Steelers after his release in the offseason.
A weaker-minded player might look at that and think the team is trying to replace him and not handle it well. Rudolph, however, has already seen how things work.
After all, he beat out Jones in a surprise in 2020 with a solid preseason. Rudolph just looks at it as a challenge.
"Obviously, I knew Josh, but I knew Dwayne prior to being signed," Rudolph said. "I think you’re always excited and looking forward to competition. You know that it’s going to be there each and every year. It’s just a matter of who. (They are) a couple of good players and good guys that I’m spending three or four weeks with now, and competition makes everybody better. I look forward to that every single year, especially in the offseason."
• Fitzpatrick has been one of the best safeties in the NFL since coming over to the Steelers in an in-season trade in 2019 from the Dolphins. He's been named All-Pro twice and has picked off nine passes.
His next step? Becoming more of a leader.
"We’re a younger team this year, a newer team this year, so stepping up in leadership, being more vocal, pulling guys (aside), making them do extra watching film or after practice, Fitzpatrick said of what he wants to do better this season. "Just going that extra mile."
The Steelers picked up his fifth-year option for 2022 at $10.6 million, meaning he'll be with the team for at least the next two seasons. Obviously, they also would like to sign him to a long-term deal, but that won't happen until next spring.
They did not, however, pick up the option on fellow first-round safety Terrell Edmunds, deeming it too expensive to give Edmunds $6.753 million while also paying Fitzpatrick. That doesn't mean a long-term deal cannot be worked out, and Fitzpatrick would be all for that.
"Whatever happens, happens. That’s for the people upstairs," Fitzpatrick said of Edmunds. "We’re going to go out this season and play our best. He’s a great player. He’s a hard player. I love playing with him."
Continuity would be nice there. And having a player with Edmunds' skillset allows Fitzpatrick to stay in his deep safety role.
"Why change what's working?" Fitzpatrick asked when questioned whether he wants his role to change this year.
Indeed. It will be interesting to see if Edmunds can take his game to the next level. He's been solid in his first three seasons, but his ball skills have been the one area where you'd like to see him improve.
• Rudolph was one of the first to admit he was really happy to have a quarterbacks coach in Canada in 2020 after former offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner served in that role as well in 2019.
Now, Rudolph will essentially be working with his third quarterbacks coach in three seasons with Mike Sullivan taking over. Sullivan joins the Steelers after working with the Jaguars, Giants, Buccaneers and Broncos previously.
"Mike’s been in the league a long time. He’s been a coordinator. He’s been with a lot of different organizations and been with Hall of Fame players like Eli Manning," Rudolph said. "It’s been great with Mike. He’s a drill guy. He’s a structure, detail-oriented guy. He’s got a lot of information for us and he holds us accountable, whether it’s drills in the field or footwork. He’s big on the little things and carrying out your fakes and being diligent. That’s been great. We all appreciate that."
Yes, even Roethlisberger has been carrying out his fakes on play-action and things of that nature. Old dogs can learn new tricks.
Learning the new offensive terminology hasn't been simple. Nor was it expected to be so. But it has kept Roethlisberger -- and all of the quarterbacks -- engaged in the process.
And that's something even the defense can appreciate.
• During 7-on-7s Tuesday, Roethlisberger was out there working against the defense.
"It’s a great look. I’m happy that Ben is out here," Fitzpatrick said. "He’s been doing this for a while. He doesn’t have to be out here competing against us. But he’s out there and everybody is getting better. It’s a great look for me to face a quarterback who can do the things he does.
"The first play, he kind of held me in the middle of the field a little bit and made a throw to the back side. Not too many guys are doing that across the league. I get to go back and watch film, or on the field, I say, ‘Ah, I could have done this.’ That is better. I can remind myself of the fundamentals I’ve got to play with when I go against a guy like Ben. This year, we’re going against a lot of guys that are high caliber. Him coming out here, I appreciate it. We all do. It’s some great looks and we all get better when Ben is out there."
These are the kind of things that pay dividends down the road. And oh, by the way, Roethlisberger still has it.
