Steelers Now
ESPN analyst Booger McFarland thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers veterans should hold out if quarterback Mason Rudolph starts.
The Pittsburgh Steelers remain all in on free agent Aaron Rodgers, but they have also expressed confidence in quarterback Mason Rudolph if Rodgers doesn’t ultimately sign with them. Former NFL defensive tackle and ESPN analyst Booger McFarland believes the Steelers veterans should be furious if that’s what happens.
“They are taking years off the lives of guys who are potential Hall of Fame players,” McFarland said on ESPN’s “NFL Live.” “When you talk about Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, if you go out there with Mason Rudolph in game one, if I’m Cam Heyward, I might not even show up, because if you’re not going to put forth the effort offensively or organizationally, why do you want me out here?”
Pittsburgh has been wasting some of the NFL’s most talented players. The team is currently in the franchise’s longest postseason win drought, having not won a playoff game since the 2016 season.
Watt, a NFL Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time Pro Bowler and likely future Hall of Famer, has never won a playoff game.
However, completely abandoning the team if it turns to Rudolph seems a bit excessive. Rudolph has proven the ability to step up when needed.
He was first thrust into the starting role when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Week 2 of the 2019 season. He started eight games and completed 176 of 283 passes (62.2%) for 1,765 yards (6.2 yards per attempt), 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Rudolph was then given the opportunity to start once again for final three games of the 2023 regular season after Kenny Pickett was lost to a high-ankle sprain and Mitchell Trubisky struggled in his limited action.
He responded with the best play of his career, completing 55 of 75 passes (74.3%) for 719 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions while leading Pittsburgh to three straight victories and a playoff spot.
No, Rudolph doesn’t make the Steelers a Super Bowl contender, but neither does 41-year-old Rodgers. So even if Pittsburgh doesn’t land Rodgers, which still seems unlikely, the team’s veterans would only hurt their legacies by holding out.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former NFL Player Thinks Steelers Vets Should Hold Out if Mason Rudolph Starts
