Steelers Starting QB Mason Rudolph In Week 17

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin told reporters the team will start QB Mason Rudolph in Week 17 to rest QB Ben Roethlisberger, per Brooke Pryor.

Pittsburgh could still change its seeding position by beating the Browns on Sunday. But Tomlin felt without a first-round bye in play, it was smart to rest his veteran starter. 

Tomlin added some other key players will get the day off or see more of a rotation but didn’t offer more specifics. He reiterated the goal is still to win. 

“It does not change our intentions. … football is a game. Our job is winning. We intend to do our job,” he said via Pryor. “.. We’re not seeking comfort. We’re not grading ourselves on a curve. … the standard that is the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the standard.”

This adds an extra layer of drama to Week 17 for the Browns and Steelers, as not only do the Browns need to win to clinch a playoff spot, the last time Rudolph faced off against Cleveland ended in a brawl with DE Myles Garrett. 

Rudolph, 25, is a former third-round pick of the Steelers back in 2018. He’s currently in the third year of his four-year, $3,921,866 contract and stands to make base salaries of $1.069 and $1.247 million over the final two years of the deal.

In 2019, Rudolph appeared in 10 games for the Steelers and thrown for 1,765 yards while completing 62.2 percent of his passes to go along with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.