There might be a great deal of sadness among many Steelers fans regarding the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.
But while the team's two backup quarterbacks, Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins, have a great deal of respect for Roethlisberger and all he accomplished, they have a different feeling about him not being around for the 2022 season.
Excitement.
Mike Tomlin reiterated the team's stance on Tuesday that, with Roethlisberger no longer in the mix for 2022, Rudolph and Haskins will get an opportunity to be the team's starting quarterback next season. Management could and probably will add someone else to the mix, be that a rookie or veteran, but Rudolph and Haskins will get their shot.
"It’s a great feeling," Rudolph said Wednesday. "All I want is a chance to compete and be the guy here. It seems like that’s more of a real possibility now more than ever, as opposed to the last four years of knowing that as long as Ben's healthy, you’re not playing. That’s very exciting, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity."
That doesn't mean Rudolph and Haskins aren't appreciative of what they learned watching Roethlisberger play. But they want to play, as well.
And as Rudolph suggested, as long as Roethlisberger, an 18-year-veteran, was healthy, that just wasn't going to happen.
That includes showing off your own leadership qualities. You have to show deference to Roethlisberger, who was clearly the alpha dog of the quarterback room.
"When you have a guy like Ben, you don’t want to step on his toes," Haskins said. "He’s a great leader. He does things in his own way that you have to kind of find your way to fall into it. Now that he’s not here, there has to be somebody who steps up to be that leader on the offense. As a quarterback, you’re asked to be in a leader role. But it’s all determined by how much respect you have amongst your teammates."
Whether or not Rudolph or Haskins can be the Steelers' next quarterback remains to be seen. But their leadership qualities will go a long way toward winning that job, as will their play on the field in what promises to be an open competition.
Rudolph, a third-round draft pick in 2018, has been waiting the longest.
He replaced Roethlisberger in 2019 after he was injured in a Week 2 loss to the Seahawks and had a tumultuous season while seeing his first NFL action. The Steelers went 5-3 in his starts, but he also suffered a concussion in an overtime loss to the Ravens, then returned to the starting lineup a couple of weeks later, only to be bludgeoned over the head with his own helmet by Cleveland's Myles Garrett in a loss to the Browns. Garrett later accused Rudolph of using a racial slur, an accusation he and his teammates who were within earshot of the play adamantly denied.
The Steelers are 5-4-1 in Rudolph's 10 career starts. He's completed 236 of 384 passes in 17 career games for 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a passer rating of 80.9.
His uneven play that season has caused some to feel Rudolph, a star at Oklahoma State, will never be the Steelers' starter. But he has other thoughts.
"I think Coach Tomlin talks about how adversity hardens. That’s probably the most adversity I’ve had in a season, in my life, and it happens in a span of 10 weeks," Rudolph said. "I think I’m a better man for what happened to me that year. I’ve been hardened. I’ve been through a lot. I know I’m better prepared on the other end for whatever football throws at me."
He's even looked back on that stretch of games after playing sparingly the two seasons since and laughs at some of the mistakes he made.
"We all want to become a better player every year," said Rudolph. "When I look back, I watched those games this past offseason just out of sheer boredom, wanting to dissect myself and ask myself the question, 'Where have I come since those starts in '19 and how have I improved?' There are things that make me laugh, mistakes I made I know I wouldn’t make today, improvements I’ve made in my body, my playing style. Until you get more opportunities to prove yourself, there are going to be question marks. I’m excited to have the opportunity this year. That’s all I want is an opportunity to compete and prove myself."
Haskins could say the same thing.
He did not appear in a game for the Steelers in 2021, serving as their No. 3 quarterback throughout the season. He was signed at the end of the 2020 season following his release by Washington after just two seasons, and less than two years after the team had made the former Ohio State star the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
But immaturity issues on and off the field, along with a coaching change, led to Washington moving on from him after just 13 career starts and a 3-10 record. He has completed 267 of 444 career passes for 2,804 yards with 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, posting a 74.4 passer rating.
"I feel like being a starter in the NFL is a great responsibility. A lot of people look at you and see what you do, how you live your life, and being an example to kids and things of that nature," Haskins said. "Being a quarterback at Ohio State and being on the grand scale, being part of that, gave me a little bit of understanding of what it’s like to be a quarterback in the NFL. Now being in the NFL, having the chance to be around Alex Smith and Ben Roethlisberger and Case Keenum and Colt McCoy, true pros, emulating what you want to be in the community, in the locker room, I feel like I was able to grab something from each one of those guys and grow and mature in my own way."
Haskins was given an opportunity in the preseason to win the No. 2 job from Rudolph, but came up short in his start in the preseason finale at Carolina, completing 9 of 16 passes for 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Rudolph was signed to a contract extension last offseason by the Steelers that will pay $3 million in 2022, with a cap hit of just over $4 million.
Haskins is slated to be a restricted free agent in 2022, but the Steelers can easily tender an offer to keep him. A first-round tender would be $5.562 million and would guarantee the Steelers a first-round pick from whatever team signed Haskins. A second-round tender, which is more likely, would put his 2022 contract at $3.98 million, would guarantee a second-round pick, while the lowest tender of $2.433 million would simply give the Steelers the right to match any offer Haskins might receive on the open market without giving any compensation in return if they do not.
Both figure to get an equal shot in 2022.
"Both guys, Dwayne and Mason, have had their moments," Tomlin said Tuesday. "They’ll have to prove that. And not only the team development process, but through playing itself. They’re guys that start that I wouldn’t characterize as everyday starters. They’ll be given an opportunity to establish themselves. There’s going to be competition. There always is. They’ll write that story. But both guys have positioned themselves to fight that fight with what they’ve done from a work standpoint and a professionalism standpoint in 2021."
Whether or not that competition also includes an outside veteran quarterback or a highly touted rookie remains to be seen. But both Rudolph and Haskins are eager to prove they can be the Steelers' starter.
"I’m a competitive person and I have a lot of confidence in myself," Rudolph said. "I think I can be the guy next year. That’s my plan. I want to be the guy. There’s too many question marks right now. I’m not going to begin to try to make a forecast of who’s going to be in the room. This is the NFL. Things are ever-changing."
Haskins agrees with his friend. He and Rudolph have a relationship that extends beyond their days playing with the Steelers. They've known each other for several years. They're open to putting their best foot forward and seeing who wins.
After all, Haskins already won a QB competition at Ohio State against Joe Burrow, forcing Burrow to transfer to LSU. Burrow would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
"I love Mason. I feel like he has a great chance to be the guy here, too," Haskins said. "We had a relationship before I was able to be in the building here in Pittsburgh. Being able to compete with him in practice, we always bring out the best in each other. I feel like coming from where I came from in college, having a guy like Joe Burrow, who was there for a few years before me, having a chance to compete against him, I feel like that brought out the best in me. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do here. I feel like that challenge will make the best opportunity for me to show what I can do here."