Who Should I Start? Mason Rudolph or Drake Maye

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.

Tuesday, May 20, 11:39 PM

The Athletic's Chad Graff reports that New England Patriots second-year quarterback Drake Maye struggled in his first practice at organized team activities on Tuesday. Nobody should be putting too much stock into it, but Maye tossed four interceptions on his 16 pass attempts with the defense dominating early on. Three of the throws were outright misses, and one of them came on a batted pass on a throw behind his intended receiver. It's not all that surprising, though, with defenses usually ahead at this time of year and with Maye learning a new offensive scheme from Josh McDaniels. The 22-year-old former third overall pick eventually took over starting duties last year from Jacoby Brissett and predictably struggled for a Pats team lacking many offensive weapons. Drake showed signs of greatness, though, and he should be able to take a step forward in McDaniels' scheme with improved offensive weapons.