Steelers News: Art Rooney II, like Mike Tomlin, stands behind Mason Rudolph

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take at how Team President Art Rooney II is in full support of Mason Rudolph as the team’s backup quarterback in 2020.

Let’s get to the news:

• Whether you like Mason Rudolph or not, it seems the Steelers, from top to bottom, are in full support of Rudolph as the QB2 in 2020.

Rooney addresses QBs, run game

By: Bob Labriola, Steelers.com

There are two topics that never fail to energize Steelers fans: running the football, and their favorite team’s quarterback situation. In his annual end-of-season media tour, Team President Art Rooney II addressed both of those topics, and the only certainty is that his answers didn’t please everyone.

”In terms of this past season, just to give a little bit of a recap, I have to say it was probably one of the craziest seasons I’ve been around in over 50 years of being around football,” said Rooney. “When you wind up having three different starting quarterbacks over the course of the year, and particularly one who earned his way on the roster after starting out as a tryout in rookie minicamp, it’s an unusual season. We had some other key injuries throughout the year. I was proud of the way our guys kept fighting through all of the adversity. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep it going there in the last few weeks of the season, but at least we had our chance. Maybe with a little more stability at the quarterback position, we could have gone a little further.”

The instability at quarterback was created when Ben Roethlisberger’s right elbow allowed him to play only the first six quarters of the regular season. From there, it was Mason Rudolph as the starter until he was concussed in the fourth game of the season, a loss to the Ravens at Heinz Field. Then it was Devlin Hodges, the survivor of rookie minicamp, then back to Rudolph, then back to Hodges, then back to Rudolph until he was driven into the ground during the Jets game and sustained a rather serious injury to his left shoulder, and then back to Hodges to finish up the season.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• To say Donnie Shell’s teammates form the 1970s are excited for his enshrinement in a huge understatement.

Shell’s HOF selection has teammates thrilled

By: Teresa Varley, Steelers.com

Mel Blount was in his car driving to North Carolina when his phone rang on Wednesday morning. He looked and saw what the number was, that it was someone calling from the NFL office in New York, so he answered right away. Because he knew what it was about.

On the other end was Pete Abitante, special assistant to Commissioner Roger Goodell at the league office. And he was calling to deliver some good news, that Donnie Shell made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Centennial Class of 2020.

”I wanted to just scream. I am driving to North Carolina when I got the call, so I had to keep my calm,” said Blount. “I think if I was in the house somewhere, I would have jumped up screaming and shouting. I am really excited for him.

”I personally, along with John Stallworth and Tony Dungy, had been lobbying for at least three or four years to convince voters Donnie was well qualified and deserving of being in the Hall of Fame. I am so happy he finally made it.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• No surprise here, the Steelers are committed to trying to keep Bud Dupree on the team in 2020, and beyond.

Art Rooney II committed to bringing back Steelers OLB Bud Dupree

By: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

After the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ended short of a playoff berth for the second year in a row, coach Mike Tomlin said retaining outside linebacker Bud Dupree would be a “high priority” in the offseason.

“I wouldn’t disagree with that,” team president Art Rooney II said Wednesday.

In his fifth NFL season, Dupree set career highs with 11.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss, and the timing couldn’t have been better for him. His contract expires in March, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The Steelers can keep Dupree from hitting the open market by applying the franchise tag at a cost of at least $16 million. Dupree earned $9.2 million in 2019 while playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract.

The franchise tag also would bide time for the Steelers to try to sign Dupree to a long-term deal.

“We’d like to have Bud back, no question about it,” Rooney II said. “And we’ll do our best to figure out how to make it happen. But we’d like to have him back, and I’ll stay optimistic that we’ll be able to figure out how to make that happen.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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