For weeks, reports indicated that Week 17 was the target return date for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. But instead, it appears the Steelers may stick with the hot hand in Mason Rudolph.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters on December 26 that the team will begin preparations for their Week 17 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks with Rudolph as the starting quarterback.

“We’re in the same position with Kenny as we were last week. We’ll give him a few reps and kind of see where that leads us,” Tomlin told the media. “But just as I said a week ago in this setting, Mason Rudolph was scheduled to be the quarterback for the week, and we’ll see where Kenny is.

“We have the same mentality as we start this week.”

Rudolph made his first start in more than two years on December 23 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He turned in arguably the best quarterback performance of the season for the Steelers.

Against the Bengals, Rudolph completed 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns. Behind that performance, the Steelers defeated the Bengals, 34-11.

Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Says Mason Rudolph ‘Got the Ball’ to Begin Week 17 Preparations
With their season on the brink, the Steelers finally got the quarterback play they needed versus the Bengals. Rudolph became the first Pittsburgh quarterback with more than 250 passing yards and 2 touchdowns in the same game since Ben Roethlisberger in Week 14 of 2021.

Immediately after the game, Tomlin declined to say what the team would do at quarterback for Week 17. But as the Steelers begin their prep for Seattle, the status quo behind center has remained the same.

“Obviously, we have a great deal more comfort because of what we’ve seen in stadium from Mason Rudolph, and that helps us,” Tomlin told reporters. “But we still are really in the same posture.

“He’s got the ball to start the week, and we’ll see where Kenny is from a mobility perspective, and then kind of go from there and plan day-by-day based on the things that we see from that perspective.”

Rudolph’s victory on December 23 was his first as a starting NFL quarterback since 2019. He is 6-4-1 in 11 career starts.

QB Kenny Pickett to Start for Steelers If Healthy?
The way Tomlin named Rudolph the team’s starting quarterback for Week 17, it sounded as though Pickett could still start if he proves to be healthy.

Tomlin, though, declined to clarify whether or not that is the case.

“I’m not into hypotheticals,” Tomlin said. “We’ll see what the performance looks like tomorrow. Mason has the ball as we stand here today.”

Pickett underwent ankle surgery on December 4 after suffering a right ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals. The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported following his surgery that Pickett would miss 2-4 weeks.

Pittsburgh’s matchup against the Seahawks will be 1 day shy of the 4-week mark of Pickett’s surgery.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport updated Pickett’s status just prior to kickoff on December 23, saying that Pickett was “expected to be back” for Week 17.

It’s difficult to read whether Pickett has suffered a setback or if the Steelers are being overly cautious with his return from injury. It’s also possible Tomlin is slow-playing Pickett’s return so the team can see what Rudolph will do in his first road start in nearly three years.