President Donald Trump predicts Mason Rudolph will get 'big shot' as Steelers QB

Evidently, President Donald Trump doesn’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers need to pick up another quarterback this offseason. At a rally in Pittsburgh on Friday, Trump praised Steelers QB Mason Rudolph while introducing him.

“I happen to think a really good quarterback is a man named Mason Rudolph,” Trump said. “I think he’s going to get a big shot. He’s tall, he’s handsome, he’s got a great arm. I have a feeling he’s going to be the guy, so Mason Rudolph, come up here.”

With a smile, Rudolph took the stage and gave Trump a firm handshake. As of this report, Rudolph is in position to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback next season.

The Steelers are reportedly interested in signing veteran QB Aaron Rodgers, but the further the offseason progresses, the less likely it appears for a deal to be made. If the Steelers don’t sign Rodgers, rookie QB Will Howard will be Rudolph’s biggest competition for the starting spot behind center in the upcoming season.

Obviously, Rudolph boasts an advantage in experience over Howard. The Steelers drafted Rudolph with the No. 76 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the Steelers’ starter for most of the 2019 season.

In 10 appearances and eight starts that season, Rudolph completed 62.2% of his pass attempts for 1,765 yards and 13 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. Rudolph served as a backup on the team for the next four seasons before signing with the Tennessee Titans ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Rudolph made eight appearances and five starts for the Titans last season. He finished the year with 1,530 passing yards and nine TDs while throwing nine interceptions. He completed 64.0% of his pass attempts.

It’s worth noting that Rodgers isn’t the only veteran QB that Rudolph might have to worry about. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that QB Kirk Cousins is on the Steelers’ radar.

“I had some conversations with people this week that led me to believe that Cousins is, at the very least, on the Steelers’ radar if something were to fall through on Rodgers,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Now, here’s how they could make that happen. Cousins has $37.5 million in guarantees between this year and next year. Somebody’s on the hook for that, whether it’s Atlanta or someone else. So to facilitate a trade, Atlanta would need a team to offset some of that money – whether it’s $4 million, $20 million, whatever it is.

“But the feeling around the league is that Atlanta has not been willing to budge on this. They haven’t shown a lot of interest in trading Cousins. It would take a hefty price tag for another team to wiggle that out. As one source told me, if they’re willing to take a small percentage – let’s say $7 or $8 million of that money – a deal would be done by now. There was interest earlier in the offseason. Right now, Pittsburgh might be the only hope for Cousins or he’s sort of stuck in Atlanta.”