All in all, Steelers' Devlin Hodges feels 'blessed' after rookie season

BALTIMORE — Devlin Hodges went undrafted and unwanted this spring. By late summer, he was unneeded and unemployed. In December, he was underwhelming and at times appeared overmatched.

But in between, the scrappy kid from Alabama became something of a Pittsburgh phenomenon as the first undrafted non-replacement rookie quarterback to win his first three starts.

“Duck Mania” flamed out almost as quickly as it ignited, and it came to an inglorious end in the rain and muck of M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. As it did, Hodges was able to keep appropriate perspective on his unique first ride through the NFL over the past eight months.

“It is tough,” Hodges said after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ended with a 28-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “But at the same time, I really enjoyed the experience.

“Shoot, I am 23. If you had asked a lot of people if I would be in this position, they would have said, ‘No way.’ I am blessed.”

The stats for Hodges’ final start of his rookie season weren’t pretty: 9 for 25 for 95 yards. Although he didn’t throw an interception, something he’d done six times over the previous six quarters he’d played, Hodges lost a fumble and took an intentional-grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety.

“Duck” was flying high a few weeks ago when the Steelers were 8-5. He was unbeaten as a starter, had a 103.2 season passer rating and was getting hero’s ovations as a guest at Pittsburgh Penguins and Pitt basketball games.

Over the past three weeks, though, things went foul for “Duck.” The Steelers lost all three games to miss the playoffs, Hodges was benched (he got his job back only after Mason Rudolph went on injured reserve) and his passer rating was putrid (39.6).

“You know, he never (outwardly) showed it,” receiver James Washington said, “but you could tell, anyone, if that happened to anyone, you are going to think about it and you are going to question it.

“But he never showed it. He kept being ‘Duck’ and giving his team a chance.”

Tomlin stuck with Hodges on Sunday to the bitter end, even if only two of the 11 possessions led to Steelers points. Hodges led just four scoring drives over his final three games, the 29 possessions with him as quarterback producing just 20 points.

“I mean, to single a guy out is never the way to do it,” veteran guard David DeCastro said. “Take it as a unit, and that’s the way it is. We all take turns having bad plays, ‘Duck,’ me, other guys. That’s just how it goes.”

So, where does “Duck” go from here? It was no small feat to make six starts (and win three) as an undrafted rookie free agent who made the team on a tryout from an FCS school. But with Ben Roethlisberger planning to return after recovery from elbow surgery and with Hodges’ late-season struggles, there are no guarantees he ever will play another regular-season game NFL game.

Immediately after Sunday’s game, Hodges still wanted some time to digest it all.

“I am just going to go home tonight, go to meetings tomorrow and then worry about the offseason when the offseason gets here,” Hodges said Sunday evening. “This is my first offseason. I wasn’t planning on anything. I was focused on the season. I will worry about the offseason in the next couple days or next couple weeks.”

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