Who Should I Start? Mason Rudolph or Jake Browning

Friday, August 22, 10:43 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph completed six of his eight pass attempts for 36 scoreless yards and an interception in Thursday night's 19-10 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers. Rudolph took the field for the team's first three offensive possessions and could not get much of anything going. The Steelers punted twice in the first quarter before Rudolph opened the second period with an ill-advised throw to Ke'Shawn Williams that Carolina picked off. Rudolph's brief showing was quickly outshined by teammate Skylar Thompson, who led Pittsburgh on three straight scoring drives. Nonetheless, the 30-year-old Rudolph should be expected to maintain QB2 duties heading into the regular season as the most experienced backup on the roster, especially if rookie Will Howard (finger) is placed on IR.

Monday, October 6, 11:47 AM

Per ESPN's Ben Baby, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor sounded "open to the possibility of a quarterback change" after another poor showing by veteran signal-caller Jake Browning. When asked if he still believes in Browning moving forward, Taylor replied, "After a game like that, we're going to look at all personnel to make sure we're doing the right thing." Taylor also noted that he still believes the 29-year-old can "win games for us," but it's fair to wonder if his time is running short after a third multi-interception performance in four outings. As for a potential replacement, Cincinnati currently boasts Brett Rypien on its active roster, along with Mike White and Sean Clifford on the practice squad. If the Bengals do opt to go in another direction, it wouldn't be surprising to see them do so from outside the organization. He won't be a recommended fantasy option until stringing together a few more promising outings.