PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers agreed to a two-year deal with quarterback Mason Rudolph, bringing their 2018 third-round pick back into the fold after a season with the Tennessee Titans, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Securing Rudolph while the Steelers await a decision from Aaron Rodgers gives their barren quarterback room a veteran option with starting experience. The Steelers also previously signed former Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson to a futures deal.
Justin Fields, one of the two quarterbacks who started games for the Steelers last season, reached agreement on a two-year contract with the New York Jets on Monday. Russell Wilson, the other quarterback who started for Pittsburgh in 2024, is scheduled to visit Thursday with the Cleveland Browns and on Friday with the New York Giants, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
In 2023, his final season in Pittsburgh, Rudolph took over the starting job late in the year and helped the team to a 3-0 finish and a playoff berth. Rudolph isn't a stranger to taking over the starting job during tumultuous times in Pittsburgh. He also shared starting duties with Devlin "Duck" Hodges in 2019 after Ben Roethlisberger sustained a season-ending elbow injury.
Rudolph, 29, is 8-4-1 in his Pittsburgh career, but he went 1-4 in five starts during his season with the Titans as he stepped in for an injured Will Levis.
Rudolph signed a one-year deal with the Titans last offseason to offer a veteran presence to Levis, a second-year quarterback in his first season as a starter. Rudolph competed with 2022 third-round pick Malik Willis and won the backup job during training camp.
Rudolph played in eight games last season. He led the Titans to a 1-4 record in five starts. Rudolph completed 437 of his 686 pass attempts (63.7%) for 1,530 yards to go along with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Steelers selected Rudolph in the third round (76th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft after trading their third-round (79th overall) and seventh-round (220th overall) picks to the Seattle Seahawks in order to move up three spots. Rudolph was the sixth quarterback selected in 2018.
He has passed for 4,615 yards with 28 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in his career.
The news of Rudolph's agreement with the Steelers was first reported by NFL Network.
ESPN's Turron Davenport contributed to this report.
