Mason Rudolph Talks Rookie Year Goals and His Fastest Route to Playing Time in Pittsburgh

Mason Rudolph has the next month off before he reports to training camp in Pittsburgh on July 25. After a nice showing through offseason workouts, there’s already some buzz that the rookie might leapfrog Landry Jones and second-year QB Josh Dobbs for the job as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup.

He recently spoke on Sirius XM Radio per Steelers Depot about his goals for this season, his offseason prep and how he thinks he can get on the field the fastest.

“I’d say my goal is day-by-day,” Rudolph said. “Obviously, I’ve set down-the-road, season goals, I won’t share that with you guys here, but I’d say definitely I want to have a great training camp that’s first and foremost.

“I want to make sure I’m maximizing my off time here and learning, getting up to speed and staying mentally sharp and then rolling into preseason games. I feel like we’ve got a great group of rookies and I’m looking forward to going out there and performing with those guys on the first NFL stage, even though it is a preseason game.”

Rudolph is set to get his first taste of the NFL during this upcoming preseason. Last year Dobbs, the rookie fourth round pick who hardly threatened to push Jones for No. 2 reps, started the first two games of the preseason. Rudolph should get at least a similar look as the Steelers try to parse through Nos. 2-4 in their quarterback depth chart.

“Kind of setting myself up and hey, I don’t really know what the Steelers have in store for me, but I’ll tell you what, I sure will be competing to be that number two guy and I’m a competitor, that’s what I want to do,” Rudolph continued. “My fastest route to get on the field is number two, so we’ll see. Obviously, there’s some good guys in that room, but that’s the way I’m wired and I want to get on the field and so if that’s going to be only preseason this year, or whenever my number’s called, I’m looking forward to it.”

Once the season starts, reps are a premium for anyone past the B team while most teams don’t even roster four QBs. And with Dobbs likely the odd QB out and Jones eyeing a contract year, Rudolph’s opportunity will be limited only by how quickly he can master the Steerlers playbook, if he can stay healthy and, of course, how he performs.

If he does usurp the former Sooner QB for Big Ben’s backup, playing time could be just one play away. Roethlisberger hasn’t started all 16 regular season games — either due to injury or rest — since 2014 and has only done so just three times during his 14-year career.

Rudolph’s confident that he’ll be ready, if and when he gets the opportunity.

“I know what I put into this game, I know what I put into my preparation,” Rudolph told Steelers.com. “I feel like I know what the results will be as long as I stay the course and stay my routine. That is how I try to live, with no regrets.”