The Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of turmoil at the quarterback position in 2019 and hope to be in a better position in 2020. Ahead of the offseason, Mike Tomlin has shared that he's comfortable with Mason Rudolph being Ben Roethlisberger's backup, via Brooke Pryor.
Mike Tomlin says Mason Rudolph returns as the backup to Ben Roethlisberger.
He's comfortable with Mason Rudolph. Says he's disappointed he missed the amount of time he did. Says he missed time due to injuries and performance.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) December 31, 2019
Back in Week 2, Roethlisberger was forced to exit the game versus the Seattle Seahawks due to injuring his elbow. The veteran signal-caller would be sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right elbow.
As a result, Pittsburgh was inclined to start Rudolph while Roethlisberger would mentor him from the sideline. The second-year quarterback would end up starting in eight games for the Steelers before injuries and his performance caused him to be benched.
Over his eight starts, Rudolph combined for 1,765 yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine touchdowns. In Week 11, Rudolph would have the worst game of his career as he threw four interceptions in a Steelers' loss.
The following week, he would struggle against the Cincinnati Bengals and would throw an early interception. Therefore, Tomlin chose to bench Rudolph in favor of the undrafted rookie in Devlin Hodges.
Hodges would end the season with 1,063 yards, five touchdowns, and nine interceptions in six starts. The Steelers would wind up reverting back to Rudolph in Week 16 against the New York Jets.
Unfortunately, a shoulder injury cut Rudolph's second stint as the starter short. Tomlin is hoping to have Rudolph ready to go in time for training camp in 2020.
Without a doubt, Rudolph showed that he isn't ready to be a starter in the NFL just yet. On the other hand, Tomlin is confident that the Oklahoma State product can handle the responsibility of being the backup next year.
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