Steelers and Mason Rudolph agree on a new two-year contract
The Pittsburgh Steelers now have a new quarterback on the roster, and it isn’t Aaron Rodgers. At least not yet. No, it’s a familiar face as Mason Rudolph returns to the city of Pittsburgh on a 2-year contract.
This per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network:
A Steel City reunion: QB Mason Rudolph has agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with $4.5 million to return to the #Steelers, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
Rudolph mulled multiple offers, including a return to the #Titans, but was motivated to head back to Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/wEC7gC7rgw
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 13, 2025
As you can see in the tweet above, the contract is for two years, and a total of $8 million dollars today. This is a move which the Steelers wisely made in the wake of them losing out in the Justin Fields negotiations, and while the waiting game for Aaron Rodgers continues. Signing Rudolph gives them a starter-capable quarterback who can be the team’s QB1 if necessary.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers are out on Rodgers, or will make Rudolph the QB1 moving forward, but they have the insurance policy to fall back on not just in 2025, but also 2026 if they choose to bring in a young quarterback who wants to learn from a veteran like Rudolph.
For those who forget, Rudolph was drafted in the 3rd Round of the 2018 Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He previously spent six years in Pittsburgh, although he did not appear in a game in 2018 or 2022. In all, Rudolph appeared in 21 games with 13 starts for the Steelers with a record of 8–41. He completed 291 passes on 458 attempts for 3085 yards and 19 touchdowns with 11 interceptions during the regular season. Rudolph also started the Steelers playoff loss in the 2023 season where he went 22 of 39 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Rudolph spent the 2024 season with the Tennessee Titans, where he appeared in eight games with five starts where he went 1–4 and was 146 of 228 passing attempts for 1503 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
This isn’t the end of the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh, but it’s a big step in the right direction for the black-and-gold.
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of NFL free agency, and the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Welcome back to the Steelers! A consummate professional and ultimate team player. No matter where he falls on the depth chart, I welcome him with open arms.
Anyone else be okay if Rudolph was the QB1 and Kyle Allen the QB2 and they spend money elsewhere in 2025?
How many games would Rudolph win as QB1?
This is my preference.
If he can play like he did the last four games of ’23, I’d be fine with it.
If you can’t get Rodgers or Wilson for less than 20mil, I’d say this is the way. Maybe get a QB in the 4th this year if someone like Dart or Howard falls that low.
I’m in.
I would have no problem with rolling with Mason, Kyle Allen and a late round draft Pick. I thought Mason played very well in that three game stretch in 2023. The offense was better with him than with Pickett or Trubisky. So, I think spending money elsewhere (although I’m not sure where else they spend it now–as all the major DL possibilities are taken) and they’ve addressed the CB room with their two more recent signings.
If you didn’t say it I would have.
I’d be fine with Mason starting the year as QB 1, as long as they have a solid backup and a draft QB they like. Heck of a lot better scenario than Wilson or Rodgers, IMO.
I would have a big problem with MR2 as QB1 and just as big of a problem with Allen as QB#2. Granted Rudolph was on a bad team, but he has shown nothing to indicate that he is a starting QB in the NFL. This might finally give the prognosticators that always pick the Steelers to finish 4th in the division their wish.
This would be a huge step backward. I really can’t believe the amount of support for this I am seeing in the comments.
I hear what you’re saying, but is he ten time worse than Rodgers? Seven times less effective than Wilson? That’s their price range.
Its a weak QB class, and a weak QB FA. No one thinks Rudolph makes us a contender. I think he is the perfect bridge option at this cost.
I also hear what you’re saying, but I think for myself and perhaps others, we all find Rudolph is a likeable dude who has been a professional throughout his career. I would enjoy seeing him succeed. It’s partly thinking well we either sink or swim with Rudolph. If he does well, that’s great. If he sinks, then maybe we finally get that under 500 season which leads to a potential franchise QB. Either way, I don’t think he can be that much worse from Rodgers / Wilson and the Price is Right at this point in time for Rudolph.
Let’s say that Rudolph is terrible what is this particular team’s basement? 6 wins? 6 wins doesn’t get you QB1, QB2, or even maybe QB3 in the draft. In 2024 6 teams had fewer than 6 wins.
I think Rudolph seems like a good pro and has been a good professional, but he is not a good QB. He was one of the worst rated QB’s in 2024. I can’t cheer for a team to be terrible.
You have to play to win every year. I don’t care about the money. It isn’t mine and they are going to spend it anyway. Wilson, Cousins, and Rodgers are all better than Rudolph and you don’t have to commit to any of them for more than two years either. I don’t have an issue with a starting QB getting a 2-year $40M deal like Fields got.
Let’s not cut off our collective noses so Tomlin has a losing season.
Spot on. Mason is a good guy and that probably blinds people to his weaknesses. His play at Tennessee was poor. And whilst they’re a poor team he did nothing to raise them. He’s a QB 2 all day long.
Given all that’s transpired (or is rumored to maybe transpire) I’ll be happy if they roll with this, strengthen the roster around him and finally give Mason a legit shot here.
If it goes well, wonderful! If not . . .
If it’s just ok-ish, at least he got his chance; they can go out in 2026, draft the “next Ben Roethlisberger” (not just some mid-round guy from this draft) and offer Mason a solid long-term gig as the next Charlie Batch.
At least it’s a path that could lead somewhere, vs. spending $90 million on a patch.
Im personally not huge on Kyle Allen as the 2 but don’t mind Rudolph as the 1. Happy for there to be a young guy come in and take that role
More than ok with it. This is what I’m hoping for at this point in the offseason.
If there is one thing Rudolph does well its throw a deep ball.
I am willing to let it ride with Rudolph this year. Its a win-win. If he does well we do well, if he fails, we don’t have to spend as much to get a QB next year in the draft.
Love it! I said last season he was the closest to Tannehill on the roster.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Tannehill could run but Mason absolutely can’t. Tannehill played at a decent level for a number of years but Mason never has. He’s a nice guy and a good story but he ain’t a QB 1.
The only pushback I have with this is that (according to Pro Football Reference) Ryan Tannehill had — by a pretty wide margin — his highest QBr in his career for the two seasons he played for Arthur Smith (64.2 & 72.6). Mason Rudolph had a 70.2 QBr in 2023 and a 55.5 QBr last season on a horrific Tennessee team. In all, even Mason’s season last year would have been the 5th best of Ryan Tannehill’s 11 year career. His 2023 season would have been the 3rd best.
I’m under no illusions that he’s a “franchise QB”, I’m just happy the Steelers can field a team now.
Mason is more mobile than people think, and he is for sure more similar to Tannehill than any other QB the Steelers have had since Ben.
Tannehill’s best seasons by far were in Smith’s system, so maybe if Mason’s given a chance he can be a serviceable QB in the same system.
I don’t hate this. We are not going to find a true #1 QB right now. I’d rather roll with Mason, and work towards our future, than bring in/back the QB geezer crew (Russ, Aye Aye Ron, Kirk, Jaemis, etc.).
The main thing about Mason’s game that drive me nuts though is his anticipation. He seems to throw to where a receiver is, rather than where they will be when the ball gets there. Best case, is lower YAC; worse is an INT.
Either way, welcome back Mason!
If the Steelers were wise they would take the Mason Rudolph acquisition as an opportunity to stop the madness. The next Steeler statement should be, “Our search for a quarterback is over for the immediate future” or something to that effect. Sure, someone will need to be signed for depth / insurance but, at this point this should be it.
Since his being drafted, the Steelers have pretty much only stomped on Rudolph. Ben Roethlisburger shunned him, they affixed a “1st round grade” scarlet letter to his forehead, they replaced him with Duck rather than letting him endure natural growing pains. For God’s sake, they signed Mitch Trubisky to play over him, all while lying to him about a made up competition that Rudolph had no chance to win. They drafted a 1st round QB who, ironically, had a 3rd round grade, to play over him. Really, the only thing that the Steelers did for Rudolph was to well-support him well after Lyin’ Myles Garrett whomped him on his pumpkin but any team would have done that.
Yet in the end, it was Mason Rudolph who saved the 2023 season.
Give the dude the ball and let 2025 play out. We’ve all been saying that the Steelers aren’t winning anything of substance this year anyway. Mason Rudolph doesn’t change that but he’s an easy guy to root for if nothing else.
Great take!
I don’t agree that he was “replaced by duck.”
He had a massive scarry concussion that took him out for weeks. Duck took over then. When he struggled they went back to Rudolph, but he was playing scared after the concussion.
There might be a little bit of speculation in your post although it’s completely understandable.
No one can say if Rudolph was playing scared or not. What we know for sure is that he wasn’t playing well. He was replaced by a person who was never going to have a meaningful NFL career and I think that was a bad move. The hard times tend to make us better at what we do. I would have rather seen the coaching staff let Rudolph work it out without the benching. It may have made him into a better QB in the long run but we’ll never know for sure.
Lochlin for Mayor! Hurrah!
As an original member of the “Mason Rudolph Fan Club”, I am thrilled. For the past couple days I’ve been saying, “just sign Mason!” I’m glad we finally did. I haven’t (yet) read all the comments, but I agree with the few I have read in that Mason has been nothing but a consummate professional and always seemed a real team guy first!
PLUS, the dude can launch a deep ball. In fact, I saw this from Chris Adamski (Pgh Trib) a bit ago:
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Mason Rudolph has started just 13 of the Steelers’ 100 games since 2019.
He has 4 of the 8 longest passing plays the Steelers have had in that time.
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Steelers pass plays of 60+ yards, past 6 seasons:
Rudolph, 4
Kenny Pickett, 2
Ben Roethlisberger, 1
Devlin Hodges, 1
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Let’s go! QB1 or QB2, I don’t care. But, let’s go! Oh, and PLEASE please don’t overspend on Rodgers or Wilson if they are signed. For the love of a merciful God!
Great stats.
As JoeB alluded to above, I don’t think anyone is expecting Rudolph to come in and throw for 4500 yards and 35 TDs. That’s not the question. The question is whether he is capable of providing QB play at least equal to that of the last 2 years, which really, wasn’t all that good. Still, that less-than-stellar QB play produced two 10-7 records and two trips to the playoffs. That’s probably the Steelers’ ceiling this year and I think Mason Rudolph is capable of replicating that feat. In 2025 that’s probably about the the best we can expect.
100%
I am happy with this now we have a guy that we know can win NFL games and rally a squad. I think he offers insurance that allows them to wait for Rodgers and if that doesn’t work out then draft someone while trading back in R1
Mason Rudolph 2025. Cade Klubnik 2026
Let’s roll. Run Rudolf run. I’m so over the QB drama since Ben retired. Makes me appreciate Al those years with a franchise QB. Not happy with the idea of Rodgers being a Steelers. If he can leave the circus stuff behind and just play. I don’t think he can. That