Ben Roethlisberger’s regular presence at organized team activities this spring typically would portend less work with the first-team offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterbacks.
Mason Rudolph, however, said the opposite was true this year. The second-year passer from Oklahoma State said he got more work with the “ones” than in 2018 when Roethlisberger missed seven OTAs while on a family vacation.
“A lot more,” Rudolph said Thursday after the 10th and final OTA session of the spring.
Rudolph believes he has earned the trust of offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, who also is in his second season as the team’s play caller.
“Randy feels more comfortable with me and my knowledge and that I’m going to go in there and run the play and execute,” Rudolph said. “That’s just what happens in Year 2. It’s awesome to be with those guys, and it’s very valuable.”
After the Steelers hold their mandatory minicamp next week, Rudolph will have five weeks off until training camp, where the real competition with Joshua Dobbs for the No. 2 quarterback spot begins.
The work he did in OTAs will help Rudolph as he prepares for that competition.
“I feel I threw the ball really well, took care of the ball, (had) barely any turnovers — especially in the red zone,” he said. “That was an emphasis for myself. Speed everything up in the red zone, make sure my ball placement is good. We’re giving guys a chance to make plays. I thought I did that and was accurate.”
