The Pittsburgh Steelers will bench quarterback Mason Rudolph against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and start the rookie Devlin Hodges instead, the team announced Tuesday.
The decision comes just two weeks after Rudolph was involved in a late-game brawl in which he was struck on the head with his own helmet by Myles Garrett of the Browns.
Garrett was suspended indefinitely for the incident, but Rudolph was fined $50,000 for his role. He had tried to remove Garrett’s helmet earlier in the fracas.
During his hearing to appeal the suspension last week, Garrett, who is black, accused Rudolph, who is white, of using a racial slur, a charge Rudolph vehemently denied. “It’s totally untrue,” Rudolph told reporters. “I couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t believe that he would go that route after the fact.” The league said it had found no evidence to support the allegation.
The rematch between the two teams, coming just two weeks after the brawl, is expected to be fraught. The Steelers (6-5) and the Browns (5-6) have had somewhat disappointing seasons thus far, but the A.F.C. North rivals still have real playoff chances.
Coach Mike Tomlin said of the decision to switch quarterbacks, “We’re putting ourselves in a position to win this game.”
“He hadn’t protected the ball very recently,” Tomlin said of Rudolph, who has thrown five interceptions in the team’s last two games. “I’ve got a lot of patience for young guys, but one thing we need to do is take care of the ball.” The Steelers coach declined to commit to Hodges beyond this week. “We’ll see where we are after this game,” Tomlin said.
It has been a star-crossed season at quarterback for the Steelers. Their longtime starter, Ben Roethlisberger, was knocked out for the season with an elbow injury in Week 2. Rudolph, the Steelers’ third-round pick in the 2018 draft, stepped in and has led the team to a 5-3 record as a starter, but his passing numbers have been far from impressive.
His last two games in particular were poor. In the 21-7 loss to the Browns two weeks ago, he had four interceptions. Last week, in a 6-point victory over the winless Bengals, he was 8-for-16 with an interception before Hodges was brought in; the rookie went 5-for-11 with 118 yards.
Hodges has one start for the team; he stepped in for a concussed Rudolph in Week 6 and went 15-for-20 in a win over the Chargers. Counting his appearances off the bench, he is 27-for-40 with 7.8 adjusted yards per attempt. Rudolph’s figure is a mediocre 5.6.
Hodges, known as Duck, was not drafted over the summer out of Samford, but caught on with the Steelers. He has been embraced by many fans because of his colorful character — he is a former junior duck-calling champion — and the flair many feel he adds to the offense.
“I thought he provided us a spark in-game,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “I’m hopeful that he’s capable of continuing to provide that spark.”
Source: Football - nytimes.com
