The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
BRIAN BOYCE FROM SPRINGBORO, PA: Do you think the Steelers should have played Skylar Thompson against Carolina's 1s and 2s last Thursday night? Then play Mason Rudolph in the second half. This could have provided a more apples-to-apples comparison for the two QBs. Or do the coaches already know each player well enough through practice and prior experiences playing to complete their evaluation?
ANSWER: The way I read your submission indicates to me that you believe there was a competition for the backup quarterback job being held during the preseason. I would disagree with that. My opinion is that Mason Rudolph was being prepared for the job as Aaron Rodgers' backup for the 2025 season, and Skylar Thompson was being evaluated to determine whether he could make the grade as a No. 3 quarterback for the Steelers in 2025. What's being ignored by those who are politicking for Thompson to replace Rudolph as the backup forget about what Rudolph did in that very role at the end of the 2023 season. As a refresher: The Steelers were about to be 7-5 after a loss in Arizona during which starter Kenny Pickett sustained a high ankle sprain that would require surgery. They then were on the way to 7-7 against the Colts in Indianapolis when Mitch Trubisky was pulled late in his second straight start in place of Pickett (two losses) and replaced by Mason Rudolph, who had begun that season as the No. 3 quarterback. In the last 3 games of the regular season – vs. Cincinnati in Acrisure Stadium, at Seattle, and at Baltimore – Rudolph completed 53-of-71 (74.6 percent) for 716 yards, with 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a rating of 120.4, with the Steelers defeating the Bengals, 34-11; the Seahawks, 30-23; and the Ravens, 17-10. It was the best sustained quarterback play the team had all season, and the Steelers qualified for the playoffs at 10-7. You wrote, "do the coaches already know each player well enough through practice and prior experiences …?" The end of that 2023 season is a prior experience, and it happened down the stretch of a regular season with the playoffs on the line. Compared to the final preseason game, that's as far away from apples-to-apples as it gets in the NFL.
BRIAN ALEXANDER FROM ROCHESTER, NY: I believe that Skylar Thompson has outplayed Mason Rudolph this preseason. I also believe that I know my beloved Steelers pretty well, and there's no chance they make him the backup QB to Aaron Rodgers. Do you agree? Also, what are the cap hits for both quarterbacks this year?
ANSWER: I agree that the Steelers are not going to make Skylar Thompson the backup QB to Aaron Rodgers in 2025. And they shouldn't. It would be foolish. Thompson played well enough to earn a spot on the roster as the No. 3 quarterback, in my opinion. But any suggestion that Mason Rudolph was below-the-line is inaccurate. In Jacksonville (against the Jaguars' first-team defense), he was 9-for-10 for 84 yards, with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, while playing without DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Jaylen Warren, Jonnu Smith, and Pat Freiermuth. For the entire preseason, Rudolph completed 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) for 166 yards, with 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a rating of 89.5. Based on what I saw every day at training camp and in the 3 preseason games, Rudolph did enough as a veteran with an 8-4-1 record as a regular season starter for the Steelers to keep the job as the backup quarterback heading into the regular season. That's not to detract from everything Thompson did in his competition for a roster spot, but what he did came in the preseason. Remember that preseason when Kenny Pickett played 5 offensive series and took the team to a touchdown all 5 times? Remember what that meant when the regular season started?
BRUCE ARNTZEN FROM NORTH HERO, VT: I believe that a ballcarrier who steps out of bounds from inside his own end zone incurs a safety. Right? We often see a receiver make a catch in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown and then continue on out of bounds. But if a cornerback made the exact same catch for an interception is his team awarded a touchback or incur a safety? Does it matter why the cornerback went out of bounds?
ANSWER: On the play when the ballcarrier stepped out of bounds inside his own end zone, the snap had to take place in the field of play. And so it required a deliberate act by the offense for the ball to end up in its own end zone where the running back stepped out of bounds. That makes it a safety. When a cornerback intercepts a pass in the end zone, the only way it can result in a safety would be if the cornerback deliberately ran the ball out of the end zone and into the field of play, and then deliberately ran back into the end zone and was tackled there. Deliberate act required.
ROD KEEFER FROM EDMOND, OK: On the play against Carolina in which Yahya Black strip-sacked QB Bryce Perkins, Perkins recovered, and then OLB Julius Welschof strip-sacked him again, would both defenders get credited for a full sack and a forced fumble?
ANSWER: Here is the way the play was scored in the "National Football League Game Summary" for Steelers at Panthers:
3-17-PIT 48
(10:38) (Shotgun) B.Perkins sacked at CAR 40 for -12 yards (Y.Black). FUMBLES (Y.Black), and recovers at CAR 40. B.Perkins to CAR 39 for -
1 yards (J.Welschof, E.Leota). FUMBLES (E.Leota), RECOVERED by PIT-M.Robinson at CAR 40.
What that means is Yahya Black sacked Bryce Perkins and forced a fumble that Perkins recovered. Before being down by contact, Perkins fumbled while attempting to run and was tackled by Julius Welschof and Eku Leota. Leota was credited with forcing that second fumble, and Mark Robinson was credited with recovering the fumble that gave the Steelers possession of the ball at the Panthers 40-yard line.
RANDALL TOLSON FROM CLIFTON HEIGHTS, PA: Did Dylan Cook lose his spot on the team with a poor showing (against the Panthers)? A holding penalty. An offside penalty that killed a scoring chance.
ANSWER: There have been a lot of projections as to the number of offensive linemen to be kept on the initial 53-man roster, and we'll know for certain today at 4 p.m. when all teams have to have made their cuts. If Dylan Cook is not on the initial 53-man roster, I would point to the addition of Andrus Peat, who entered the NFL as a No. 1 pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2015. Peat has been used at both guard and tackle since being signed on Aug. 7, and his pedigree and versatility could win him a spot.
ROB WARREN FROM BILLINGS, MT: I would guess with the NFL cutdown date quickly approaching, the Steelers are waiting to see who gets cut before potentially adding the infamous "WR2"?
ANSWER: Hate to tell you this, but the kind of player who could qualify as a No. 2 WR in the NFL is not found on the waiver wire.
JOHN SPATHAROS FROM NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV: I know as we get older we might remember things differently than how it really was. I swear that training camp was longer in the past. I believe it was at least a full month. Yes, one fewer preseason game might explain a shorter training camp, but wouldn't the coaches still want the longer camp time away from distractions? Is the collective bargaining agreement why training camp is shorter?
ANSWER: There is a clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that specifies the number of days of training camp that are allowed before the date of the team's first preseason game.
PETE CRAFT FROM CONNEAUT LAKE, PA: What determines who gets first shot at a waived player?
ANSWER: At this time of the NFL calendar, waiver priority is determined by the teams' records during the previous season, with the team with the worst record being first, then the team with the second-worst record, etc. until it gets to the defending Super Bowl Champion. After 24 hours, the waiver period expires, and that's when the league office checks on all claims of all waived players. If there is only 1 claim on the player, the team making the claim is awarded the player's rights. If there are multiple claims on a player, the team with the worst record during the previous season is awarded the player's rights. If a player is unclaimed, he has cleared waivers and is a free agent.
RICH McEACHIN FROM ANTIOCH, CA: My question is about the proper pronunciation of Latrobe. I have always thought it is pronounced "Luh-trobe." But I have heard some people pronounce it "Lay-trobe." Which is correct?
ANSWER: I don't know which is "correct," but what I can tell you is that I know some people who have lived there all their lives, and they pronounce it "Lay-trobe."
