Mason Rudolph had zero intention of returning.
Less than zero, if that's mathematically feasible.
I reported from Acrisure Stadium upon the Steelers' season-ending victory there that Rudolph was the first out the door, and it was the seldom-used back door, to boot. No fist-bumps. No high-fives. Nothing but a jingle of the keys. But it'd go well beyond that, per multiple sources, between that bush-beating exit and the 180-degree reversal seen this week with his return through free agency:
• Rudolph told several people in January that, while he harbored no ill will toward the city or anyone in it, there was no chance he'd be back.
• He put his recently purchased home up for sale.
• He hit the open market, with a firm eye on becoming at least a backup for any of the NFL's other 31 franchises.
And then ... thud. I don't have the next events in any exact sequence, but the lines of communication with the Steelers remained open and, in fact, the buyer of the home was a family member of the team's ownership. From there, an outreach was made from Rudolph's camp to the team and, in very short order, a contract agreement had been reached to return.
Nothing earth-shattering here. I'm not presenting this as big breaking news but, rather, as a telling tale of how situations and stances can change in the realm of professional sports, but in particular the NFL, where there are no options for an athlete outside the parameters of the extremely limited count on positions available. Rudolph had cast himself out to sea without a life raft, and he'd soon realized he'd better remedy that, or way too many of the league's 96 quarterback slots might be filled. Including in Pittsburgh, where quarterbacks were being entertained at the rookie minicamp a week ago.
End of the day, it's all business.
MORE STEELERS
• Can't state this strongly enough: Rudolph's return has nothing to do with, nor any impact on Mitch Trubisky. Management has no aim or intent of trading the latter. He was always going to be retained, and there was always going to be an approach regarding an extension, one which culminated this week.
• Why three NFL quarterbacks? Plain and simple, both Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan believe in the value of having a strong 'room' in that regard, to borrow their own terminology. All three have experience and, by having Trubisky and Rudolph behind him, Kenny Pickett's all the stronger when it comes to depth and support. Nothing to overthink. And they aren't.
• The first round of organized team activities, or OTAs, begins Tuesday, but some players have been around all along. That's fairly common, but I found it striking that Broderick Jones, the first-round pick, has opted to stay on the South Side since arriving for rookie minicamp. He told me he's trying to "learn as many faces and names as I can" toward assimilating as quickly as possible.
• He'll start. Joey Porter Jr. will start. Darnell Washington will get on the field so often it'll feel like he's a starter. Same with Keeanu Benton, at least in the defensive base package. That's four from this rookie class, including Jones. I don't get the sense the Steelers are that sure of any of the others, but they're more than open to Nick Herbig and Corey Trice Jr. starting, too. That'd be amazing, huh?
• Not since Eric Green, another tight end, have I seen someone as physically imposing as Washington. Just a mountain of a human.
• Heard from someone close to Trice within the past week. They remain both stunned and stung that he fell to the seventh round. Their stance is that the knee/ankle injuries he'd sustained at Purdue are very much in the past, and that the brace he'd often worn this past season with the Boilermakers was precautionary.
• Keep the eyes peeled for yet another new venture soon from the indefatigable Ryan Shazier. It'll hit close to home.
PIRATES
• Sure, it's about money. But there's more to why neither Henry Davis nor Endy Rodriguez has been promoted this season, as well as why they'll both remain stuck at catcher -- and at their respective minor-league affiliates -- for another good while: Management made a plan, and management's sticking to it. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but that's the way it was drawn up and, when it comes to developmental issues, nothing sways Ben Cherington. He sees two catchers who can hit, and he's going to continue seeing two catchers who can hit until/unless he sees that one or both can't catch.
• For a glimpse at this thinking, I can share now that, several years ago, when I was inside 115 Federal Street meeting with a former team executive from the previous administration, I glimpsed a wall-sized board on which the Pirates' projected lineups/rosters were drawn up for years to come, all of it constructed on players already within their system. Changed my own thinking on this sort of thing forever. (And no, I don't remember any of the specifics, so don't ask.)
• Man, are they touchy on this topic. Pushes every button.
• This isn't the year, in the brass' eyes. This was never going to be the year. At least not for any complete commitment.
• Between Davis and Rodriguez, the first player arriving in Pittsburgh will be ... Quinn Priester? Don't rule it out. His season numbers with Indianapolis -- 4-3, 4.66 ERA through eight starts -- won't blow anyone away, but his past three starts have brought not only a 1.42 ERA, a .200 opponents' batting average and 17 strikeouts to three walks, but also the welcome return of an aggressive approach. Kid's pounding the fastball again, including the two-seamer. And if that keeps up, coupled with continued inconsistency from Roansy Contreras and/or Johan Oviedo, that door's seen as wide open. Management's always considered Priester a 2023 possibility.
• The Pirates had discussed limiting Rodolfo Castro, a switch-hitter, to hitting only from the left side as far back as early spring. Never came to pass. And now that they're palpably afraid of letting him hit right-handed, it's flat-out too late. No way they'd ask him to bat right-handed against right-handed pitching in mid-stream.
• Andy Haines has as much chance of being the next astronaut sent to Venus as he does of being fired. Cherington swears by him. Passionately.
PENGUINS
• Anyone seeking clues within the Fenway Sports Group's hiring process for a new general manager and/or president of hockey operations should always prioritize Boston ties. Hate to keep coming across like the myopic individual that I am when it comes to Pittsburgh teams needing to be run by Pittsburgh people -- or, at the least, people who live here and care about the place -- but it can't be overstated the extent to which the FSG people will focus on New England, as I've been told countless times. That, by the way, is the only way someone as outwardly incompetent as Peter Chiarelli could be granted an interview. He was with the Bruins before destroying the Oilers, and studied at Harvard before that. This is ... not uncommon in that part of the world, at the risk of over-stereotyping.
• Kyle Dubas being fired today shouldn't have any impact on FSG's process. This individual looked and sounded as rattled as any executive as I can recall in his cringy press conference Monday in Toronto, up to and including the part where he blurted out that, if he isn't working for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24 -- he now won't be, of course -- he wouldn't work anywhere. Yikes.
• I remain disturbed by how little I'm hearing myself on the Jason Botterill front, but maybe I shouldn't be. Botterill's very much the communicative sort, so it might also stand to reason that he's keeping quiet because he's a real candidate.
• Sorry I don't have more here. All of my experience on this job is in Pittsburgh, not Boston.
• Thanks for reading Insider, as always. If you missed why it went up so bleeping late, here's the answer.
