The Pittsburgh Steelers found their passing game late in the 2023 season when Mason Rudolph took over the starting quarterback job. Rudolph started the last three games of the regular season and helped Pittsburgh get into the playoffs. He also did his best to rally the Steelers against the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round after Pittsburgh went down 21-0 early on.
Rudolph’s teammate, wide receiver Diontae Johnson, didn’t hide his opinion of Rudolph and went so far as to say he hopes he gets the job in 2024. Johnson spoke to the media the day after the team’s playoff loss.
“I’ve been knowing how Mason plays since my rookie year, so it wasn’t nothing I wasn’t expecting for him not to do,” Johnson said. “I kind of had high hopes of him doing what he’s been doing when he became the starter.” “Like I said, hopefully he gets the job next year, and do what he’s got to do, but he did a great job in my opinion.”
This was a tough stance to take given head coach Mike Tomlin has said Pickett is QB1 as of now and Rudolph is a pending free agent who might not be back next season.
