Mike Florio and Chris Simms evaluate the Steelers’ reported move to re-sign Mason Rudolph and explore where he fits into the QB conversation, after Kenny Pickett’s concussions last season.

Video Transcript

MIKE FLORIO: --other quarterbacks out there, Mason Rudolph agrees to resign with the Steelers. I don't know who in that organization has this thing for Mason Rudolph. Right? I don't know.

CHRIS SIMMS: He's got dirty pictures or something.

MIKE FLORIO: I don't know what Mason Rudolph has on somebody whose last name rhymes with Rooney. I don't know. I'm just kidding.

CHRIS SIMMS: You're funny.

MIKE FLORIO: I'm just kidding. But, I mean, it's just-- it's odd to me. I figured, at this point, the ship has sailed. But I guess what happened is they had a number that they were willing to pay him. He's thinking, I'm a free agent. I can do better than that.

Well, March becomes April. April becomes May. He hadn't done any better than that. So, hey, is it still on the table? Maybe it isn't. Maybe there's less. Either way, what's he going to do? No one else is out there. We got through free agency. We got through the draft, and nobody else wanted him, so he goes to a place where he at least knows the personnel, knows the city, knows the offense.

But what's he going to be on the depth chart? I don't know.

CHRIS SIMMS: I mean--

MIKE FLORIO: It's Trubisky. I thought Trubisky--

CHRIS SIMMS: I thought, first--

MIKE FLORIO: --would be gone.

CHRIS SIMMS: Well, that's where it makes me wonder. And I'm not-- you know, like, again--

MIKE FLORIO: Is that the next move, Trubisky?

CHRIS SIMMS: Well, I just-- as you were sitting here talking about that-- and, you know, again, it's one of those weird shows. And because we were up late last night. I didn't do all my homework all the way there. But like--

MIKE FLORIO: That implies that you ever do.

CHRIS SIMMS: Well, I do. I do. I am a-- I am a end of the day, get the rundown, now I'm on the couch, kind of watching TV, the wife sitting next to me, and I start to look up stuff. Or she'll, you know-- I'll turn on my computer and go, let me watch this guy and film a few plays, right, and do that.

I am that guy. But I got to thinking here with the Trubisky thing, like, wait, what is his contract situation here? Right? Are they looking at it, going, oh, wait, the amount of money he's making and what we can get from Mason Rudolph, we don't think there's that much of a difference of the football player there? You know, that did cross my mind when I saw that.

MIKE FLORIO: Is there some guarantee in there?

CHRIS SIMMS: Well, there's-- this year-- let's see. We've got two years, $14.2 million contract, right? And for this year, he's got $8 million in cash. He's got a dead cap number of $2 million. Right? So that would be a guy you go, oh, they could save $6 million there.

And if they feel like Mason Rudolph is in the same class as him or not far off, I don't know. That's just, kind of, where my head went. I don't know. You think I'm crazy for that?

MIKE FLORIO: Well, no. It just would be a hell of a thing for it to have now--

CHRIS SIMMS: Kind of, like, nowhere, right?

MIKE FLORIO: --to Trubisky.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right.

MIKE FLORIO: But if they're looking at dollar for dollar, getting somebody that's equivalent, but you're going to save some money that you can bank for future contracts you have to do-- like if you're going to make Kenny Pickett your guy-- any cap dollars you start kicking over now is going to be there when it's time. And they're one of the few teams--

CHRIS SIMMS: Or maybe the--

MIKE FLORIO: --that's always trying to, kind of, make ends meet from a cap standpoint. The Steelers spend. They spend. They are always having to do things to stay under the cap because they're willing to use all of it. So maybe that would be an issue, if they could pull that off. But I don't know where Trubisky would go.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right. Well--

MIKE FLORIO: Unless they just cut him.

CHRIS SIMMS: I don't know either. I know. Well, you know, and the other aspect is, well, maybe Pittsburgh is looking at this and going, no, we want three quarterback. Kenny Pickett had a concussion--

MIKE FLORIO: Two.

CHRIS SIMMS: --issue last year.

MIKE FLORIO: Two concussions.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right. So, you know, you look at that, maybe they go, hey, maybe this is a year we would like to have three guys, just to protect ourselves a little bit.

MIKE FLORIO: That's one of the big TuAnon takes. Why don't you ever talk about Kenny Pickett's concussions?

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, I know. I know.

MIKE FLORIO: You talk about Tua's concussions. Why don't you talk about Kenny Pickett's?

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah. I know. That's easy. That's an easy question. The people got to stop that. I hear it all the time. I see it too. And it's like, there's an easy answer to that.

MIKE FLORIO: What is it?

CHRIS SIMMS: Kenny Pickett got a concussion. But he wasn't like a wobbly spaghetti or stuck in a weird position on national TV for, like, 30 seconds, or, you know, falling and with his ankle back injury. Right? There was too many optics. Or I threw three interceptions in the second half of a football game--

MIKE FLORIO: And nobody could whine till the next day.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right. So that's where TuAnon, like, shut up. You're wrong. All right? There you go.

MIKE FLORIO: Send your emails to us.

CHRIS SIMMS: Send it right to me. You know what it is.

MIKE FLORIO: About Tua, about hot water.

CHRIS SIMMS: Upyourbutt.com at Gmail.

MIKE FLORIO: Thank you.

CHRIS SIMMS: [LAUGHS]

MIKE FLORIO: Thank you. Thank you. That probably is an address somewhere, and somebody's going to get emails at upyourbutt@gmail.com.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, that's right.