Who Should I Start? Mason Rudolph or Daniel Jones

Wednesday, May 28, 11:59 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph opened OTAs with the first-team offense on Tuesday, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. This news isn't much of a surprise, but it does confirm head coach Mike Tomlin's vision as full-team practices get underway this summer. Presumably, the starting quarterback job is Rudolph's to lose, barring an external quarterback addition such as Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins. Rudolph's internal competition comes from Skylar Thompson and rookie Will Howard. Thompson has completed just 58.7 percent of his career passes with one touchdown, three interceptions, and two fumbles. He primarily served as a backup over three seasons in Miami. Meanwhile, Howard is a rookie who impressed at Ohio State, but he has suboptimal draft capital as a sixth-round pick. On the other hand, Rudolph has shown flashes of potential during his time with the Steelers (2018-2023) and Titans (2024). In Tennessee last year, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,530 yards, nine touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

Monday, June 23, 3:07 PM

The Athletic's James Boyd writes that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones is the QB1 for now heading into training camp after Anthony Richardson (shoulder) aggravated his surgically-repaired right shoulder in OTAs and then missed minicamp. Jones has already taken a significant lead in what was supposed to be a wide-open QB competition. There is no timetable for Richardson's return to on-field activities, but he says that he'll be ready for the start of training camp at the end of July. Not only is Richardson going to need to stay healthy all summer, but he's probably going to need to outplay Jones in order to win the starting gig going into Week 1 in September. Nothing is finalized yet, but Jones' fantasy stock as a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues is rising with Richardson continuing to be set back by injuries.