It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Mason Rudolph‘s debut was less than stellar. Rudolph needs to play better if he is to convince the Steelers front office and fans alike that he is the future of the franchise.
The Steelers showed faith in the 2nd year player when they traded away next year’s first round pick for Safety Mikah Fitzpatrick. It was a fair trade and unlike Rudolph, in his first game starting for the Steelers, showcased why he was well worth the trade. With that being said, if Rudolph continues to have poor showings, the organization will wish they had a mulligan on the decision to trade away a potential top 5 overall pick.