A week of speculation about who will play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Chicago on Sunday has already grown tiresome.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s only Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
The obvious bottom line on the topic is that if the call between Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph is 50-50\u2026 it\u2019s not 50-50.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not going to be 50-50 unless Rodgers\u2019 injured wrist is, like, 40-60.<\/p>\n
Eh, more like 30-70. At that point, coach Mike Tomlin might have to make a coin-flip decision.<\/p>\n
Short of Rodgers\u2019 wrist being that bad, Tomlin doesn\u2019t have a decision to make. Rodgers is starting.<\/p>\n
Regular readers of this column know I\u2019m not saying that to besmirch Rudolph. I like Rudolph<\/a> and am glad he\u2019s back on the team. He\u2019s a quality backup<\/a> and plenty capable of winning a few games in a row as a starter.<\/p>\n As this city can certainly remember. I mean, 2023 wasn\u2019t that long ago, was it<\/a>?<\/p>\n But Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan and Art Rooney II didn\u2019t put all of Pittsburgh through three months of a dog and pony show waiting to officially sign Rodgers to scratch him for Rudolph on a 50-50 call.<\/p>\n Not in mid-November. Not heading into Chicago. Not with a withering one-game lead on Baltimore. Not with games against the likes of the Bills, Lions and Ravens (twice) on the horizon.<\/p>\n Granted, Rodgers was somewhere between \u201cmeh\u201d and \u201cblah\u201d at various points over the last six quarters of Steelers football. Rudolph was quite steady during the second half of Sunday\u2019s win over Cincinnati at Acrisure Stadium.<\/p>\n Still, Rodgers is going to play unless he absolutely can\u2019t.<\/p>\n Related:<\/p>\n \u2022 First Call: Ja’Marr Chase suspension upheld; Steelers work out QBs; Pirates reportedly ‘in’ on Kyle Schwarber<\/a> And, hey\u2026 maybe he really can\u2019t. Orthopedic wrist and hand repair isn\u2019t my specialty. But if we find out by Saturday\u2019s departure to the Windy City that Rodgers can\u2019t take a snap, fend off a pass rusher, stiff-arm a tackler downfield or brace himself on a fall, then forget everything I just said.<\/p>\n Let ol\u2019 Mason wax up that beautiful mustache and give him the ball against the Monsters of the Midway.<\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t say enough about Mason Rudolph,\u201d Tomlin said Tuesday. \u201cAlthough we\u2019re used to it, it\u2019s still appreciated. He\u2019s proven over his time here that he\u2019s capable of coming in and playing winning football for us, and that\u2019s no small task.\u201d<\/p>\n Agreed. But winning in Chicago against the Bears is no small task either. The Steelers have done that one time as a franchise<\/a> since Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s first term in office. Meanwhile, Rodgers has won there 11 times.<\/p>\n \u201cAaron always wants to play. Opponent has nothing to do with it,\u201d Tomlin said.<\/p>\n Pfft! Sure, it doesn\u2019t. Just like I\u2019m sure playing against the Jets and Packers this year meant exactly the same thing as playing against the Browns, right?<\/p>\n I get it. Tomlin has to say that. Just like he has to say, \u201cWe\u2019ll see where the week leads us, and we\u2019ll take it day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n The reality, though, is that if Rodgers\u2019 wrist is even close to ready Sunday, he is going to play.<\/p>\n Imagine if Tomlin overrules Rodgers and sits him in Chicago if Rodgers thinks he can play. Do you think he\u2019s going to take that quietly? Especially if the team loses and\/or Rudolph doesn\u2019t play well.<\/p>\n Worse yet, what if Rudolph plays and plays well and Tomlin creates a quarterback controversy for himself?<\/p>\n Although who are we kidding? That\u2019ll never happen. There will be no QB controversy here. This isn\u2019t one now, and it won\u2019t be. Not with Tomlin\u2019s deference to veterans with strong personalities.<\/p>\n I mean, did you hear Tomlin talking about putting Darius Slay back in the lineup over James Pierre? What more evidence do you need?<\/p>\n Not to mention Tomlin\u2019s track record of bypassing Rudolph.<\/p>\n My god, Tomlin sat Rudolph for a guy named \u201cDuck.\u201d You think he is going to start Rudolph in Chicago if Rodgers is even close to 100%?<\/p>\n If, through bracing it up, taping it up, shooting it up, numbing it up, they can get Rodgers within spitting dist \u2026 oops, bad turn of phrase this week<\/a> \u2026 shouting distance of 50-50, he\u2019s playing.<\/p>\n Sorry, Bears fans.<\/p>\n BAD MAN. @AaronRodgers12<\/a><\/p>\n ????: #GBvsCHI<\/a> on FOX \u2014 NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com<\/a> or via X<\/a>. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u2022 A look back at the Steelers’ long and ugly history in Chicago<\/a>
\u2022 Mike Tomlin: Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers won’t need surgery on fractured wrist, could start vs. Bears<\/a><\/p>\n
????: NFL app pic.twitter.com\/lHghsq962t<\/a><\/p>\n