With future up in the air, Mason Rudolph not looking beyond Steelers' preseason finale

When the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Detroit Lions on Sunday, they will conclude not just their preseason but the exhibition schedule for the entire NFL.

The 4:30 p.m. nationally televised kickoff makes the Steelers-Lions matchup the final one of the weekend and one of only two that will be held Sunday.

That will place plenty of eyeballs on the Steelers quarterback competition in general and, for teams seeking a veteran backup, Mason Rudolph in particular. With Mitch Trubisky the frontrunner to be the starter Sept. 11 in Cincinnati and rookie first-rounder Kenny Pickett taking snaps with the first and second teams, Rudolph could be traded before 53-man rosters are finalized at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Not that Rudolph is thinking that far ahead or pondering the possibility of auditioning for the 31 other teams in the league when he takes the field against the Lions.

“All I care about is this coaching staff right now,” Rudolph said after practice Thursday. “(A trade) may be so, but I can’t control it. I don’t try to speculate on that. My teammates and coaches are the opinions I care about. Anything else is water under the bridge.”

Rudolph went from being the heir apparent when 18-year veteran Ben Roethlisberger retired in January to supposedly competing for the starting spot when the Steelers signed Trubisky in free agency in March and then drafted Pickett with the No. 20 overall selection in June.

Rudolph, though, watched Trubisky take nearly every first-team snap in the first two weeks of training camp and Pickett move past him on the depth chart for the second preseason game. While Pickett got some playing time with the first-team offensive line against Jacksonville, Rudolph was relegated to playing the entire second half with mostly backup players.

It likely wasn’t the way Rudolph envisioned his preseason unfolding.

“I try to say nothing surprises you anymore, but I said it previously, I would have enjoyed taking some more first-team reps, but that didn’t happen,” Rudolph said. “I think I made the most of the reps I did get, and that’s all you can do when you play quarterback.”

If the rotation stays the same, Rudolph will enter the season third on the depth chart for the first time since 2018, his rookie season. That could be a difficult pill for a fifth-year veteran to swallow, but Rudolph has impressed teammates with his conduct during camp.

“He’s been real professional,” said guard Kevin Dotson, whose locker is near Rudolph’s in UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “Just in the way he acts, he hasn’t acted any different toward anybody, to any of the quarterbacks. They know it’s a job, and you have to do what you have to do. Mason’s doing what he has to do to get where he wants to go.”

Would Rudolph welcome a trade if it meant more playing time rather than another season on the bench with the Steelers?

“I think it’s too soon to say,” Rudolph said. “We’ve got another week. I’m going to keep doing my job each and every day, hit the field Sunday and compete.”

Rudolph has made it this far by ignoring the outside noise and focusing on each practice, each repetition in preparation for the NFL season. That isn’t about to change.

“I think I hear it from you guys, but I don’t read it,” he said. “I really don’t. I try not to read the rat poison on social media, which can get to you. My friends and family know not to send me that crap. It’s easy. That’s my routine.”

In two preseason games, Rudolph has completed 26 of 36 passes for 220 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 106.3 passer rating, directing the offense to points on half of his eight drives. He threw a perfectly placed 26-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens against Seattle, and he led the third-stringers to nine unanswered points and the winning score at Jacksonville.

“I’m proud of the way (I’ve competed),” Rudolph said. “We still have a few more practices and a game Sunday, and I want to put the finishing touches on it, but I’m excited for whatever the Lord has for me.”