Conflicting reports about Mason Rudolph staying with Steelers despite Russell Wilson's arrival

More Mason Rudolph with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024?

I’m not quite sure how or why Rudolph would want to do this, but at least one report is suggesting that he may want to come back to Pittsburgh even if both Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett are on the Steelers roster.

Via ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio on Monday, “Per a league source, Rudolph is still in play for Pittsburgh.”

From what I’m being told, that’s a long shot — at best. My guess is that Rudolph should be able to get at least decent second-string money somewhere.

If not, maybe it will be back in Pittsburgh after all. But I’d anticipate Rudolph finding a better option somewhere else than waiting to see if Pickett and Wilson fail and then being asked to clean up the mess again if they do, like he did for Pickett and Mitch Trubisky last year.

After reports of Wilson’s signing became clear, I did have a few people suggest to me that perhaps a little conspiracy theory was afoot — that the Steelers may already have a trade in place for Pickett with the prearranged intent of keeping Rudolph to backup Wilson once that signing becomes official.

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I did some snooping on that front and was informed the conspiracy theory has no starch, in part because Pickett’s trade value would be less than that of Justin Fields.

As you may have seen in a recent ESPN report, second-round compensation is now thought to be too high for Fields. So if Pickett is potentially getting less than that in return, we are talking about a third-day pick.

My hunch on Rudolph’s prospects is not unique. The NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo also reported on Monday that Rudolph has interest beyond the three rivers.

As the QB market takes shape over the next few days, indications are Mason Rudolph has interest from several teams. His play down the stretch for the #Steelers has clubs interested in him for a primary backup role.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2024

Not only do I think Rudolph would get totally lost in the mix as the third QB here, the dynamic of him being the last quarterback to enjoy any modicum of success in Pittsburgh looming over Pickett and Wilson as they presumably battle it out for the starting job would be a conspicuous third layer of controversy and conversation.

I’m not just talking about media members and fans, but perhaps a wide receiver or two in the locker room. For example, Diontae Johnson went on record at the end of 2023 saying he wanted to see Rudolph get the job next year.

That was pre-Wilson. I wonder what he thinks now.

During Rudolph’s three-game push to get the Steelers into the playoffs at the end of 2023, he posted 716 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, an average of 10.8 yards per attempt and a 120.4 passer rating.