Mark Madden: Steelers should stick with Mason Rudolph despite clamoring for Will Howard
Let’s get ahead of the clamor: Don’t start Will Howard.
Mason Rudolph did fine deputizing for an injured Aaron Rodgers in the second half of the Steelers’ home win over Cincinnati.
Rudolph posted similar stats, maybe a bit better, and directed a game-clinching, fourth-quarter drive.
Rudolph did better under pressure than Rodgers had. He stood tall, stepped up in the pocket and looked more willing to take a hit. Rodgers has been antsy under the rush lately, often quickly dumping out of plays. Perhaps Rodgers knows these Steelers aren’t what he’d hoped and is making “business decisions.”
That’s not to suggest Rodgers shouldn’t start the minute his injured wrist permits. The job is his.
But if that wrist keeps Rodgers out for a bit, Rudolph is more than capable.
Rudolph should have been the Steelers’ starting quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season.
The Steelers wouldn’t have done worse and might have done better. Management has mangled the quarterback position dating back to then (and before), the idiocy reaching its peak when Kenny Pickett got drafted in 2022’s first round when no other team would have done so. Selecting Pickett set the Steelers back at least five years.
Rudolph’s current status is Howard’s ceiling: Quality backup.
But with Rodgers sidelined, a vocal minority is predictably yelping for Howard to start.
Howard, drafted in this year’s sixth round, took zero snaps in exhibition games due to injury. He only returned to practice Oct. 22, to the active roster this past week. Howard is hardly up to speed.
Despite winning a national championship at Ohio State, Howard wasn’t picked until the sixth round for a reason. He’s not much of a pro prospect. Charisma doesn’t convert third downs. He’s skittish under pressure, and his accuracy is sporadic.
Howard was surrounded by college football’s very best at Ohio State. The situation with the Steelers does not correspond, especially on the offensive line.
Shedeur Sanders was projected to go in the first round of the 2025 draft but dropped to the fifth round, going to Cleveland with the 144th overall pick.
Sanders showed why his draft stock plummeted when he made his NFL debut this past Sunday vs. Baltimore: 4 for 16, one interception, two sacks for 27 yards, passer rating of 13.5. Sanders looked absolutely lost.
Sure, he’s only a rookie. But we kept getting told that Sanders should have gone higher, that he’s ready.
Tom Brady being a sixth-round pick is often cited.
Sanders certainly didn’t look much like Brady, and Sanders went a round earlier.
Brady is the exception, not the rule. Late-round quarterbacks can strike gold, but it’s not the way to bet.
Twenty-five of the NFL’s starting quarterbacks are first-round picks. Three more are second-round choices.
Rudolph was a third-round selection in 2018. The Steelers allegedly had him projected as a first-round pick.
One hundred and eighty-four choices were made before the Steelers took Howard. He isn’t the guy. Not now, not ever.
There’s nothing wrong with being a solid backup. It pays pretty well. Ask Rudolph.
But, yeah, give the kid a chance. Like the Browns did Sanders.
Actually, Mike Tomlin might.
Not to start. But maybe Howard plays if Rudolph struggles.
Tomlin has never given Rudolph proper respect, and he’s clueless when it comes to quarterbacks.
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