In Week 17, the Tennessee Titans are set to face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game with serious implications.
What? For the playoffs? Heavens no, these two teams haven't had a shot at the postseason since Halloween – even if they were technically eliminated from contention until a few weeks later – no, this game has serious implications for the 2025 NFL draft, with both the Titans and the Jaguars sitting not-so-pretty at 3-12 in a dead heat for the second-overall pick with almost a half-dozen other teams.
If the Titans win, they could fall as low as seventh; if they lose, they kick a team like the Jaguars out of the running for the top pick, effectively eliminating them from that honor with one more game left to play.
And yet, for Mason Rudolph, he isn't thinking about who will be playing for the Titans in 2025, as he likely won't be their teammate, what with his one-year contract set to expire at the end of the season. Still, that isn't stopping the pride of Oklahoma State from going all-in on the game, as it might just be his final chance to do so at the NFL level.
“I think when you look at it, we didn't win, and that is really the only criteria that I look at,” Rudolph told the Titans website. “Obviously, why didn't we win? I think I put our defense in a bad spot a couple of times with some turnovers and can't do that. That's not winning football. And so, I'm ready to prove that I can take care of the ball better and keep scoring points.”
Brian Callahan, too, feels strongly about giving Rudolph a chance to play in Week 17, noting that he believes his quarterback earned this chance to start with his strong efforts in Week 16.
“I think he's earned himself another shot to play, and he did a lot of good things in the game,” Callahan said. “Obviously the one interception was probably his only really poor moment. The rest of it was pretty well executed on his part and operated in a drop back passing game and had to fight his way back through it. And it was good to see. So we'll let him take another crack at it.”
Now granted, Rudolph's playing in Week 16 was partially due to Will Levis' poor play and particularly because the mayo-loving quarterback was on the injury report. With Levis officially off the list, however, this feels like a chance for Mason to prove he's worth another NFL shot in 2025 while also setting up a chance for the Titans to play for what they really want, better draft positioning. While it won't be easy, as the Jaguars are playing Mac Jones at quarterback and are similarly looking to load up on talent come spring, with Rudolph running the show and Callahan calling some B- stuff, maybe this will go down as a moral victory and loss number 13 on the year.
