Rudolph, Conner are fascinating backups
(whereas Fleury’s was, in short order). Clearly, that is not the case and won’t be for quite some time, as long as he stays healthy. It’s just that he has never entered camp knowing a player the franchise pegged to one day replace him will be waiting in the quarterbacks room.
Rudolph is that player, and for whatever it’s worth, he showed out in spring ball, to the point that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette wrote this on June 14: “Rudolph showed them enough that few in the organization will be surprised if he earns the No. 2 job this year.”
That is where the fascination lies for now: How soon might Rudolph, who impressed teammates with his strong and accurate arm, move into the one-play-away seat? How do Mike Tomlin and newly promoted offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner divvy up the camp reps behind Roethlisberger?
Landry Jones has been a functional backup. Rudolph is an uber-talented rookie whom the Steelers traded up to draft. Some might label this a minor story, especially because Roethlisberger has missed only one game that mattered over the past two years.
They’re wrong. There might be camp battles more pertinent to the win-loss record than backup quarterback, but the position itself makes it the most compelling one by far. More precisely, Rudolph makes it so.
Then again, he might be only the second highest-profile backup in town. Conner, former Pitt star and local hero, would relegate anyone to that designation. He is a special kind of person.
Now it’s time to prove he should be Bell’s primary backup — which could be a a vital position, given Bell’s mercurial history and uncertain future. Who knows what could happen as his potential pot of gold grows nearer?
The Steelers last year invested a third-round pick in Conner. It’s time to find out what they have.
He showed flashes in limited action (albeit without much variance in the run calls) before an MCL tear ended his rookie year. He faces serious competition in veteran Stevan Ridley and especially 6-foot, 225-pound rookie Jaylen Samuels, whose all-around skills opened a bunch of eyes in spring.
Conner runs hard. No question about that. He must show he has mastered the details of his position, the things that either keep a running back on the field or assure his removal — blitz pickups, precise route running, etc.
One offensive lineman told me this: “Usually the biggest improvement for guys is from the first year to the second year. I’m excited to see Conner this year.” Me, too. I’m sure he’ll get over it, but Bell is gonna miss a pretty compelling camp.