The Pittsburgh Steelers have publicly expressed a desire to re-sign veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph this offseason. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell argued that the Steelers will get their wish.
While placing quarterbacks potentially available this offseason into tiers, Barnwell argued Rudolph won’t see an uptick in his market because of his 3-game winning streak to end the 2023 regular season. Barnwell then added that Rudolph will return to Pittsburgh.
“Rudolph’s brief burst of production was out of line with his prior career performance, and he is likely to re-sign with the Steelers,” wrote Barnwell on February 25.
Barnwell placed Rudolph in his “tier 6” of free agent quarterbacks. That was also the last tier of signal callers for the ESPN analyst.
Rudolph found himself essentially at the bottom of Barnwell’s free agent quarterback rankings despite posting a 3-0 record with a 74.3% completion percentage, 9.7 yards per pass and 3 touchdowns with 0 interceptions in four appearances last season.
Projecting Mason Rudolph’s NFL Free Agent Market
With quarterback becoming seemingly a bigger need for teams every offseason, especially with all the injuries at the position in 2023, it’s a little surprising Barnwell didn’t predict Rudolph to receive a little more interest on the market.
Barnwell called his sixth tier of free agent quarterbacks, “backups likely to earn a roster spot.” He described the tier as signal callers who “should be able to land spots on NFL rosters” but will have to “compete for their roster spot in camp.”
