Rudolph operated as Pittsburgh's top quarterback during Tuesday's opening OTAs practice, Brooke Pryor of ESPN reports. Rudolph spent the 2024 campaign in Tennessee before reuniting with the Steelers on a two-year, $7.5 million contract early in free agency, and he currently appears comfortable as the leader of a quarterback room that also houses rookie sixth-rounder Will Howard and former Dolphins third-stringer Skylar Thompson. While Rudolph boasts familiarity with coach Mike Tomlin and has played at a capable level with Pittsburgh in the past, he faces the challenge of adapting to a new scheme under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, as well as building chemistry with new top wideout DK Metcalf, who was absent from Tuesday's practice. The Steelers remain linked to free agent Aaron Rodgers through rumor and speculation, but nothing official has yet materialized beyond the veteran having visited with the team in March.
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Rudolph operated as Pittsburgh's top quarterback during Tuesday's opening OTAs practice, Brooke Pryor of ESPN reports. Rudolph spent the 2024 campaign in Tennessee before reuniting with the Steelers on a two-year, $7.5 million contract early in free agency, and he currently appears comfortable as the leader of a quarterback room that also houses rookie sixth-rounder Will Howard and former Dolphins third-stringer Skylar Thompson. While Rudolph boasts familiarity with coach Mike Tomlin and has played at a capable level with Pittsburgh in the past, he faces the challenge of adapting to a new scheme under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, as well as building chemistry with new top wideout DK Metcalf, who was absent from Tuesday's practice. The Steelers remain linked to free agent Aaron Rodgers through rumor and speculation, but nothing official has yet materialized beyond the veteran having visited with the team in March.
Rudolph is signing a two-year contract with the Steelers, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The 2018 third-round pick will return to Pittsburgh after a one-year detour to Tennessee, where he went 1-4 as a starter while completing 64.0 percent of his passes for 6.7 YPA (with nine TDs and nine INTs on 228 pass attempts). Rudolph was better than Will Levis but subpar by pretty much any other standard, likely putting him in a backup role for 2025 unless things go horribly wrong for the Steelers over the next couple months. They're reportedly trying to sign Aaron Rodgers, and if that doesn't happen they may consider re-signing Russell Wilson or trading for Kirk Cousins. The initial report on Rudolph's contract has it at two years and $8 million, with $4.5 million guaranteed, putting him in the middle of the market for backup quarterbacks.
Rudolph completed seven of nine passes for 70 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Sunday's 23-14 loss to the Texans. Will Levis returned to the starting role for the Titans, though Rudolph rotated in for three possessions to close out the first half and begin the second. He accounted for two long gains of 24 and 17 yards, though he ultimately wasn't afforded much opportunity to get into a rhythm. Rudolph didn't make a particularly compelling case to be in the starting mix for Tennessee or any other NFL team in 2025, though he is a capable backup and should land a contract relatively early in the offseason.
Will Levis will start Sunday's season finale against the Texans, per Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site, but Rudolph will also see action in the contest. The prospect of a signal caller time-share Sunday isn't appealing from a fantasy perspective, however in a week with multiple moving parts at the QB position due to injuries or starters being limited or rested this weekend, Levis and/or Rudolph represent lineup options for those in deep leagues scrambling for a Week 18 fill in.
Both Rudolph and Will Levis are in line to play in Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Texans, per Titans head coach Brian Callahan, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com reports. Rudolph took over as the Titans' starting quarterback in Week 16 , and he has put up a 3:4 TD:INT along with a 64.6 percent completion rate and an average of 222.5 passing yards per contest in two games since. Callahan cited Tennessee's 0-2 record since the switch as part of the reason for the decision to deploy both QBs while adding, "It's always a position that you want to have an answer for. We have to make sure we have all the looks that we need," per McCormick. With both Rudolph and Levis appearing likely to get snaps behind center Sunday, neither profiles as an appealing asset in fantasy.
Rudolph completed 19 of 31 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 20-13 loss to the Jaguars. He added five rushes for 23 yards. Rudolph drew his second consecutive start and had a mixed performance relative to his opportunities in 2024. Positively, he only turned the ball over once, though he was also sacked three times. While Rudolph completed a decent percentage of his passes, he was unable to push the ball down the field until the game was out of reach -- both of his completions of more than 20 yards coming with under five minutes of game time remaining. He'll likely remain the starter for Tennessee's season finale against Houston, though his status will be worth monitoring during the week.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan said Tuesday that Rudolph will make another start Sunday against Jacksonville, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports. Rudolph took over the starting job from Will Levis in this past Sunday's 38-30 loss to the Colts and threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns, though he also tossed three interceptions. Despite the uneven performance, Rudolph will stick in the starting role for at least another week, and he'll have a soft matchup against the Jaguars, who rank last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (263.0) on the season. Meanwhile, Levis will presumably remain Tennessee's backup quarterback after beginning the season as the team's No. 1 signal-caller.
Rudolph completed 23 of 34 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed four times for three yards in the Titans' 38-30 loss to the Colts on Sunday. He also threw a two-point conversion pass. Rudolph earned the Week 16 start after a spirited second-half performance as an in-game replacement for an ineffective Will Levis in Week 15, and although he had his moments Sunday, he also sabotaged his team with turnovers. Rudolph's afternoon started in encouraging fashion with a 38-yard scoring strike to Calvin Ridley in the first quarter. He added a six-yard touchdown toss to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the fourth and tacked on a two-point conversion toss to Chigoziem Okonkwo following a Tyjae Spears rushing score as well. However, in between, Rudolph threw a pair of picks in Tennessee territory near midfield, and his final interception came on a game-ending Hail Mary. Rudolph did connect with eight different targets overall and was more successful in producing chunk gains through the air compared to Levis, so the former is likely to remain the starter for a Week 17 road matchup against the Jaguars.
Head coach Brian Callahan announced Wednesday that Rudolph will start Sunday's game against the Colts and may also start the final two weeks of the season, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports. Rudolph will likely start the final three games of the season unless he gets injured or turns in a truly irredeemable performance, as there's not much reason for the Titans to turn back to Will Levis otherwise. The two quarterback have similar rate stats in many categories, but Rudolph has been far better at avoiding sacks, including this past Sunday. In the Titans' 37-27 loss to the Bengals, Rudolph attempted 26 passes and didn't take any sacks after coming on in relief of Levis, finishing with 21 completions for 209 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.