STEELERS QB’s SHINE in 31-14 Win

Landry Jones | 4-4, 83 yards, 1 TD, 158.3 RTG
Mason Rudolph | 7/12, 101 Yards, 85.8 RTG
Josh Dobbs | 9/13, 91 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly believe Landry Jones is better than 80% of the backup quarterbacks in the NFL. At least that’s the message the Steelers put out when Jones was scheduled to be a free agent in 2017 and all indications are the Steelers still feel that way a year and half later.

While in limited action, Jones shined in the Steelers 31-14 preseason opener win over the Eagles on Thursday night in connecting with JuJu Smith-Shuster for a 71 yard touchdown and going 4 of 4 for 83 yards on the night with a perfect 158.3 rating.

Jones grasp of the offense and trust with the coaching staff is why Mason Rudolph has little shot to unseat Jones as the No. 2 when the Steelers open the regular season in Cleveland.

But, should the Steelers explore Jones trade value prior to the regular season?

The backup position is so poor around the league, there’s a belief inside Steelers circles Jones could net the team a 4th round pick if they wanted to move him.

Whether to play the value game and potentially move Jones for a 4th or 5th round pick all depends on Mason Rudolph over the next couple weeks.

Pittsburgh may view Jones as one of the upper echelon backup QB’s, but at age 29 Jones, a free agent at seasons end, is primed to signed elsewhere next off-season and from the Steelers end, they had a late first round grade on Mason Rudolph.

He’s going to be the No. 2 next season.

Rudolph played the entire second half vs the Eagles. He failed to deliver any touchdown drives but led the Steelers on two field goal drives. Rudolph threw the ball well at times and was very poised against pressure situations, a good sign for a rookie playing under the lights for the first time in an NFL setting.

“He did a solid job in all areas,” Steelers head coach Tomlin said of Rudolph.

Rudolph has had some rough moments in camp, especially in the early going, but his confidence in the pocket has started growing by leaps and bounds in practices over the last week and that translated to Thursday’s game.

The Steelers Super Bowl hopes are lost this season if Ben Roethlisberger suffers a season ending or long-term injury.

Why the Steelers like Jones is that the team has confidence in him that he can keep the team competitive were Roethlisberger miss a stretch of 2-3 games.

That’s the same evaluation the Steelers should make with Rudolph over the next couple weeks. If the answer is yes, then moving Jones for a draft pick of value should be a consideration.

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