Yinz Should Be Cheering On Mason Rudolph

When Mason Rudolph entered, many Steelers fans began booing. He does not deserve that kind of reception. I have had my gripes with Rudolph being the Steelers quarterback, I even wrote an article about it, but he should not hear boos from hometown fans.

In fact, we should be cheering Mason on every time he plays well. Why? Because that only makes him more valuable to the Steelers. Steelers fans should be hoping that Mason Rudolph lights up every preseason game he is in. It’s a win-win situation for the team. There are a couple different ways a win could play out for Pittsburgh regarding Mason Rudolph. Bear with me here.

The first and most likely outcome is that Mason becomes a valuable trade piece for Pittsburgh early in the year. Cutting him would be a waste. I have said this before, but stories in the NFL only get out if someone wants them out. The multiple reports of Mason having a chance for the starting job are most likely smoke screens by Pittsburgh.

If Mason continues to succeed in preseason, and Pittsburgh continues to boast that he has a chance to start, when the season begins. He will have a high value in the trade market. Every year a handful of starting QBs in this league get hurt and the backup quarterback in town is hardly serviceable.

Having Mason Rudolph sandwiched between Trubisky, who is inarguably better, and Pickett who is a rising rookie, would make him a trade target for teams. If he shows flashes in preseason and his coaches speak highly of him, and there was a chance he would have been an NFL starter, that garners a much heavier price.

If he struggles in preseason, and he never had a chance to start, than trading him would be close to hopeless. Its all about boosting his trade value.

On the other hand, let’s say Rudolph beats out Mitch and Pickett. I’m assuming yinz just through your phone across the room so i'll wait…ready? Okay, good. Rudolph is the longest tenured Steelers QB, being the only one who isn’t in his first year on the team. However, he has had the chance to build rapport with the current pass catchers on the team, OC Matt Canada, and Mike Tomlin. That undoubtedly gives him a leg up on his competition.

Should Rudolph take that competitive edge and turn into a starting role, then good. We are quick to forget that at times Rudolph has shown promises. He was competitive as the Steelers starter before Earl Thomas knocked his face mask off and Myles Garrett almost cracked his skull.

We must give Rudolph the benefit of the doubt that he hasn’t had the easiest first few seasons in the NFL. Even Big Ben made public comments about his displeasure at Rudolph being drafted and said he would not mentor him. Not the best environment to come into.

Steelers fans should want Rudolph to play his absolute best this preseason. If he does, we have a valuable trade asset in the year, or we have found a diamond in the rough at quarterback. Both options are better than Rudolph spending another year on the sidelines in a baseball cap.