Chance to play, not rematch with Browns, motivating Steelers QB Rudolph

As fate would have it, the biggest game of Mason Rudolph’s season is also the biggest game for the Cleveland Browns in more than a decade.

Despite the sordid history between the two, the latter is having little effect in motivating the former.

“I really could care less who the opponent is,” the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback said Friday during his first media availability of the regular season. “It’s big for me, regardless, because it’s an opportunity for myself (and) for a lot of other guys to showcase (and) prove ourselves to our teammates and our coaches. That’s what’s motivating me.”

The player most likely to disrupt Rudolph’s cause in his first game as a starting quarterback in 13 months is also the individual most likely to flip the narrative of Sunday’s game from the playoff implications to a re-hash of the ugly incident in the waning seconds of the last time the Steelers played in Cleveland: Myles Garrett.

Garrett ripped off Rudolph’s helmet and struck him over the head with it late in a 21-7 Browns win Nov. 14, 2019. Garrett was suspended for the remainder of last season as a result, and Rudolph was benched after a slow start in his next outing 10 days later.

Since, Garrett accused Rudolph of using a racial slur, something the NFL said it found no evidence of. Garrett this season regained his status as one of the league’s top defenders, and Rudolph fell back into his role as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup after Roethlisberger returned from elbow surgery.

But with the Steelers locked into a No. 2 or 3 AFC playoff seed and opting to give their 38-year-old quarterback rest, Rudolph gets a valuable chance to audition to be Roethlisberger’s successor or, at least, be his long-term backup after the expiration of Rudolph’s contract following next season.

“I see myself as (a future starter), and I think there are plenty of quarterbacks who have sat behind Hall of Fame quarterbacks and it has benefited them down the road,” Rudolph said. “And I think what a positive to sit and watch a guy work like Ben that has so many banked years of reps and so much knowledge of the game and he’s willing to pass that down.”

Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said he won’t be overhauling the offense for Rudolph. Rudolph regularly takes first-team practice reps every Wednesday, and he spent more practices than that as the No. 1 quarterback in 2020 because of the times Roethlisberger missed practice because of minor injury or on the reserve/covid-19 list.

“There’s some things you sit back every week and say, ‘Man, he is very comfortable in this concept in the pass. He’s very comfortable with this verbiage in and out of the huddle,’ ” Fichtner said of Rudolph. “It was easy to gravitate toward some of those things in this week’s prep.”

A third-round pick in the QB-rich 2018 draft, Rudolph was a player whom the Steelers insisted they had given a first-round grade after his prolific career at Oklahoma State. After being a healthy scratch for games his rookie season, Rudolph completed 62.2% of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 10 games (eight starts) last season.

He showed some flashes of potential but also had some poor showings, such as throwing four interceptions in the aforementioned infamous loss to the Browns.

“He has gotten better every year in terms of understanding and knowing the offense, reads, throws,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s physically gifted, we know that. He’s smart. We know he can make all the throws and do things”

Rudolph’s playing time this season has been limited to “mop-up” duty. Without the benefit of preseason game reps during the pandemic-affected season, Rudolph instead said he made strides refining his games during training camp.

Throughout the week, teammates have given unsolicited remarks about the excitement level Rudolph has displayed in getting a chance to start a meaningful game.

“It’s just fun being out there,” Rudolph said. “It’s a totally different feel. It’s fun. It will be the real deal on Sunday.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.