PITTSBURGH — As the Pittsburgh Steelers look to upgrade their quarterbacks room, they haven’t forgotten about free agent Mason Rudolph, the one-time third-stringer who revitalized a sluggish offense and led the franchise to a surprise playoff berth last season.
Steelers general manager Omar Kahn said this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis that the team had stayed in contact with Rudolph and made it known that the organization wants him back in black and gold.
“We’ve talked to his representative and he knows we want him back,” Kahn said.
Both head coach Mike Tomlin and team president Art Rooney II said from the outset of the offseason that they were interested in retaining Rudolph, who’s one-year deal with the Steelers expired at the end of this past season.
Rudolph made just $1,080,000 in salary during the 2023 season but he is likely to earn more after throwing for 716 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on a 75% completion rate during three regular season starts.
He took a step back in his lone playoff start against the Buffalo Bills, throwing for 229 yards, a 56.4% completion rate and two touchdowns to just one interception, but still had the Steelers within a possession of the Bills late into the second half.
The Steelers want to give Kenny Pickett a chance to prove he can grow into a quality signal-caller, but they are eager to see what Rudolph can do when given a real shot at earning the full-time starting job.
