Since Mason Rudolph took over as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, the story of his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger has resurfaced.
Rudolph recently intimated that the quarterbacks room wasn’t such a cohesive group as they are now when Roethlisberger was QB1. “… There’s been other times when it’s been not as cohesive as a group, and people aren’t as forthcoming with ‘Hey, how do we help?’”
Roethlisberger denied he didn’t help Rudolph, instead stating that it was extended but not accepted.
“When Mason played for me, I was trying to help Mason as much as I could,” Roethlisberger shared on his “Footbhalin'” podcast on Dec. 31. “Then he just he never… he didn’t want my help anymore, so I backed off.”
The future Hall of Famer said he never had an issue with Rudolph as a person, only where the Steelers took him.
“I never had an issue with Mason when he got drafted. I’m going to put it out there now. I had more of an issue with the pick.”
The Steelers jumped the Cincinnati Bengals, trading up in the third round for Rudolph in the 2018 NFL draft. This was immediately after snagging wide receiver James Washington, Rudolph’s top target at Oklahoma State. It certainly had the makings of Pittsburgh preparing for its post-Roethlisberger future. But he claims that didn’t bother him (nor did it work out as such).
“We were a really good football team, and he was drafted early. I just felt like we could have maybe picked a player that could have helped us at the moment. We were still a team that was that was competing,” he said. “I was not worried about him taking my job. I know some people probably… I thought that was not an issue for me.”
“I felt that we could have drafted a position — offense or defense — that could have helped us. Not a guy that was going to be a potential backup, sure maybe have the the job in the future. That’s where I was more frustrated. It had nothing to do with Mason personally.”
Five years later, Rudolph is doing his damnest to prove he was worthy of the draft selection. And maybe — just maybe — earn top billing ahead of the 2024 season should he remain in Pittsburgh.
