Pittsburgh Steelers showing ultimate trust in Mason Rudolph

With an aging Big Ben out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers are showing confidence in their 2018 NFL draft selection, Mason Rudolph, which they selected 76 overall.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have rid of the off-the-field toxicity, but who says that won’t affect how they play on the field?

For the first time since 2013, the Pittsburgh Steelers have started 0-2, but they have lost more than just their first two games. In Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a non-contact elbow injury that forced him into surgery and will hold him out for the rest of the season.

So now the question arises. Can 2018 third-round selection from Oklahoma State, Mason Rudolph, overturn this team’s slow yet blatant decay?

The Steelers think so.

Rudolph showed above-average promise for an inexperienced QB in his NFL regular-season debut, throwing for 12/19, 112 Yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and earning himself a PFF grade of 67.7 in under one half of play. The Steelers came up just short, falling to the Seahawks 26-28.

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The performance evoked a positive outlook from his teammates and coaches, even in the wake of Big Ben’s devastating injury news.

"“We all have faith in him. We are going to continue to make plays for him. He has to get in there and get comfortable. We have faith in him. We just have to make plays and help him feel comfortable in the pocket. We have the guys around here to do it. We will be all right.” WR James Washington told Steelers.com in the team’s locker room after the 26-28 loss to the Seahawks.“As a team we just have to play better. Yes, No. 7 is a huge factor in our offense, he makes our offense go. But having No. 2 back there it’s not going to change. We are still going to play the way we play and go hard every day.” WR Juju Smith-Schuster told Steelers.com"

However, the most interesting occurrence to Rudolph’s short career as QB1 came just a day after his first start, with the Pittsburgh Steelers shipping off their 2020 first-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins for defensive back, Minkah Fitzpatrick.

So what does this specific defensive back trade have to do with Rudolph? The organization’s confidence in his future.

With Roethlisberger’s injury, the clock is now ticking even faster for the Steelers to find a suitable replacement for their long-tenured franchise quarterback.

The 2020 quarterback draft class is stacked with names like Justin Herbert, Jake Fromm, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, all projected to go first-round. So why trade yourself out of a position like this? It’s because this trade truly indicates that the Steelers are self-assured with Rudolph, even beyond this season.

Although, if the Steelers play their cards right, they’ll still be able to get an opportunity to snag another proficient QB in the second round next year. That’s how talented the 2020 QB draft class is.

The city of bridges hopes to stay content with Rudolph under center for at least the next 14 games. Can he pull it off? Only time will tell.