Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, who was demoted to third string, is done complaining about his role with the team. It’s football time.
Rudolph is and will continue to be a valued member of Pittsburgh’s football team, until he isn’t. The Steelers reportedly haven’t made much of an effort to trade him — viewing him as a safeguard in case Mitch Trubisky is injured — but still demoted him to third-string.
Rudolph’s camp hasn’t demanded a trade, either.
So, what’s the end game here? Well, for now, Rudolph is staying put, and understands there isn’t much he can do about it.
“I’m a competitor,” Rudolph told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Wednesday. “Anyone who wants to compete wants to be the guy on the field, but those are things I can’t control. I’m going to have a good positive mindset, do what I can to help us win.”
Steelers: Mason Rudolph got a raw deal
Pittsburgh had listed Rudolph as the backup to Trubisky earlier this week, but then swapped in the rookie Kenny Pickett, citing a clerical error. This, for obvious reasons, had to irk Rudolph. Thus far, he’s sticking to the script, while Pickett claims he never once worried about his spot on the depth chart.
“I just really generally take it day by day,” Pickett said, per the PPG. “There’s a lot going on, a lot that goes into being a professional quarterback. I’m just learning so much. I want to keep improving, and everything else will take care of itself.”
Earlier in training camp, Rudolph politely implied he was misled by the team about his chances to start Week 1.
While he still doesn’t think he got enough reps with the starters in training camp, all Rudolph can do is look forward. He tried to prove himself, and knows he’s good enough to start in the NFL.
“Listen, I’m a much better player than I was Year 1 to Year 5. I’m confident in myself and happy with myself when I did get the reps. I’m going to do whatever I’m asked to do. Other than that, I guess I’ll just kind of hold the clipboard.”
