Steelers' Mike Tomlin names Mason Rudolph as starting QB for Week 18
There is an unspoken rule in the NFL when it comes to players and injuries. The prevailing notion is that should a starter lose his job to injury, once healthy, it's back to standard operating procedure. But Pittsburgh just proved that you can't always go by the book in the NFL, and it may come […]
There is an unspoken rule in the NFL when it comes to players and injuries.
The prevailing notion is that should a starter lose his job to injury, once healthy, it's back to standard operating procedure.
But Pittsburgh just proved that you can't always go by the book in the NFL, and it may come at the cost of Kenny Pickett's future with the team.
Kenny Pickett Has Been Benched
"I think Kenny's availability is less in question this week," coach Tomlin told the media on Monday. "I anticipate him being available to practice. That being said, we're gonna leave the ball in Mason Rudolph's hands. He's done a good job and we've done a good job in the most recent two weeks. We've taken care of the ball, he's taken care of the ball. We scored points at a rate in which we hadn't done to this point this year. And with the urgency of the moment, and because of those reasons, we're gonna leave the ball in his hands."
Rudolph has been a revelation at the QB position the last two weeks, putting up numbers that haven't been touched since the Big Ben era, and most importantly, orchestrating the offense and team to wins.
For Pickett, his future is in serious jeopardy with this decision. Not only is he going to be fully ready to play against the Ravens, but as Coach Tomlin also admitted on Monday, Pickett was healthy enough to play against the Seahawks, yet was rendered inactive:
As for beyond this season or even beyond Week 18, Coach Tomlin was noncommital when asked about who will be the starter should Pittsburgh make the playoffs, and wanted nothing to do with questions about the position heading into 2024:
So we'll see what the future holds in Pittsburgh. The team is one bad Mason Rudolph game away from Pickett being back in their good graces.
The problem is, the toothpaste is now out of the tube in Pittsburgh.
Once you bench a starter, especially at QB, the narrative surrounding his career changes forever.
So Pickett may receive a chance to prove he can still start in this league, but the likelihood of that being in Pittsburgh just took a massive hit.
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