Mason Rudolph on return to Steelers - 'Good to be wanted' - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — Everything about being back at the Steelers' UPMC Rooney Sports Complex is familiar to Mason Rudolph. The head coach, many of his teammates, the media and the uniforms are all the same.

Even the noise surrounding him — and not just the rumble of the trains passing by the practice fields — is something the quarterback has grown used to over five roller-coaster NFL seasons.

«That's nothing new to me,» Rudolph said Tuesday when asked about the Aaron Rodgers-sized elephant in the quarterback room. «There's been constant noise — that is the nature of the NFL, so I have been used to that for a long time now. I do nothing but be the best I can be and help our team get better this spring.»

After a season in Tennessee, the 2018 third-round draft pick returned to the Steelers on a two-year, $7.5 million deal inked in the first week of free agency. The Steelers signed Rudolph amid their pursuit of Rodgers, and they continue to wait on the four-time MVP to make a decision about his future.

«It's great,» Rudolph said of the Steelers acting quickly in free agency to sign him. «I've been a part [of teams] where you jump on the moving train late in the spring, and then [others where] you're here from the jump. So I've learned to adapt to both, but it's obviously good to be wanted.»

Rudolph filled the role of QB1 on Tuesday, leading off the quarterback drills for a group that also includes 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson.

«He's always been consistent of who he is,» tight end Pat Freiermuth said of Rudolph. «Obviously he has a hell of an opportunity right now, and so we're all excited for him. He's going to come to work every single day and work hard, so it has been