Ever since Aaron Rodgers injured his left wrist, there has been a floating discussion as to whether he should step aside for Mason Rudolph until he gets healthy. Rodgers did that for the game against Chicago. Rudolph made some nice plays in that one, but it wasn’t enough for the Steelers to get a win. However, Rodgers didn’t look good at all against Buffalo last week.
Stuck between two quarterbacks who don’t offer much optimism at the moment, Rodney Harrison thinks the best option is to play them both.
“If I’m coaching them, I’m actually gonna rotate Mason Rudolph a few series. Give him an opportunity. Because you just don’t know what’s going to happen with Aaron Rodgers and the thumb [wrist injury]. So I’m actually rotating both quarterbacks, just to give them a little bit more depth,” Harrison said Friday on the Football Night in America podcast.
Many wanted a look at Mason Rudolph, and they got one. He did well against a bad Cincinnati defense when initially stepping in, but couldn’t do much against Chicago. He got another chance last week against Buffalo with Rodgers briefly out, but Rudolph threw three incompletions, one of them being a bad interception.
It’s hard to step into the middle of a game after being on the sidelines. And Rodgers is by no means thriving in the offense either. But after his performances in the last two games, the argument for more Rudolph has certainly started to quiet down.
Asking Rodgers to take himself out of the game for Rudolph probably wouldn’t go too well, either. He’s an ultimate competitor, and his efforts to come back into the game with a damaged wrist and nose last week were evidence that he’s not going to want to come off the field. Especially when there’s a good chance that he’s only got five games left in his NFL career.
It also would be quite a move to make in this pivotal of a game. The Steelers don’t have any more room for mistakes. While a win puts them back in the driver’s seat in the division, but a loss may kill the rest of their season. At that point, Pittsburgh would be 6-7, needing to beat the Ravens in the season finale and match them the rest of the way, as well. Even then, they’d have to hope a tiebreaker falls their way. Making a decision like this could throw off any rhythm the offense still has at this point.
Aaron Rodgers’ play hasn’t been pretty recently. But he’s still the best option the Steelers have at the moment. It would be a massively bold move for Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith to play both Rodgers and Rudolph on Sunday.