Mike Tomlin 'comfortable' with Mason Rudolph serving as Steelers' backup QB

The top two quarterbacks for the Pittsburgh Steelers finished the season on injured reserve, and they will resume that hierarchy once they return to health.

That was the word from coach Mike Tomlin, who gave an early endorsement to Mason Rudolph serving as the backup to franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger next season.

“I am comfortable with Mason Rudolph,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his season-ending news conference.

Rudolph wasn’t active in any games as a rookie, but he won the backup job in training camp this season and was thrust into the starting role at halftime of Week 2 when Roethlisberger sustained a season-ending elbow injury.

Rudolph was knocked out of his third NFL start with a concussion, was benched in midseason for undrafted free agent Devlin “Duck” Hodges and then sustained a season-ending left shoulder injury in Week 16.

Rudolph was 5-3 as a starter, but he did not start a game after being replaced by Hodges in the third quarter Nov. 24 at Cincinnati.

“I’m disappointed he missed the amount of time he did,” Tomlin said. “Injuries are a part of the game. He had an opportunity to grow and grow in a lot of ways and get a lot of experience. He missed some time due to injury and performance and so forth, but I’m comfortable with Mason Rudolph.”

Tomlin, though, doesn’t have the same faith in Hodges, who lost his final three starts, serving as the Steelers’ No. 2 quarterback.

“Mason is the backup,” Tomlin said.

Rudolph completed 62.2% of his passes and threw for 1,765 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He led the Steelers back from a 10-0 deficit against the New York Jets before he injured his shoulder in the second half.

Rudolph, though, doesn’t expect to be handed the backup spot. He had to win it from Joshua Dobbs in training camp last year, and he expects to get competition from Hodges and others in 2020.

“No one ever solidifies any spot,” Rudolph said Monday. “You see that week to week around the league. The moment that you think you’ve solidified something, that’s when the game humbles you. I’m going to compete like I have every single year of my life since I was in middle school. That’s how I’m going to treat it.”

Tomlin didn’t have an update on Roethlisberger’s rehabilitation from right elbow surgery in which the quarterback reportedly had three tendons re-attached. Tomlin said a medical checkup in early February will provide more clarity.

“That will be significant in terms of mapping out what is next,” Tomlin said. “But that is a moving target.”

Roethlisberger will turn 38 in March. Given his age and the nature of his injury, the Steelers could pursue a veteran quarterback in free agency for depth.

“I don’t even know what the potential market is as I stand here,” Tomlin said. “We’re into self-analysis. I’m not ready to weigh those options.”

If the Steelers add a veteran quarterback, Hodges could fall to the fourth option on the offseason roster, the spot he maintained last season when he was signed out of a rookie tryout in May.

Hodges started the final five games and finished with five touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,063 yards and had a lower passer rating than Rudolph (71.4 to 82.0).

“This is a guy who really had an awesome opportunity when you look at it,” Tomlin said. “An opportunity to play, opportunity to grow. I believe he did those things. How much he grows and what it means in terms of his evolution as a player, we’re going to be writing that, he’s going to be writing that as we move forward.”

Tomlin was asked whether he could hire a full-time quarterback coach to tutor the younger quarterbacks. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, formerly the team’s quarterback coach, has been handling both roles for the past two seasons.

“I’m not opposed to that thought process, that discussion, that exploration,” he said. “No doubt.”