Mason Rudolph has been benched before.
It happened once in college when he was at Oklahoma State and another time in high school in Rock Hill, S.C.
Rudolph bounced back both times, throwing for over 13,000 career yards in college after passing for nearly 11,000 in high school.
That's why even though he's disappointed by Mike Tomlin's decision to go with Devlin Hodges at quarterback Sunday when the Steelers (6-5) face the Browns (5-6) at Heinz Field, he's taking the demotion in stride.
"I've been benched, once in college for kind of a half and then once in high school. There are some past experiences that you draw from," Rudolph said Thursday after the Steelers completed their Thanksgiving Day practice. "I conquered that and it's just going to be a matter of staying within myself and believing in myself, which I still do ... , and staying in the fight."
Fight was an interesting choice of words for Rudolph, who was part of a brawl with the Browns the last time the teams met two weeks ago in Cleveland. Rudolph became entangled with Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett late in the game in an incident that led to Garrett ripping the helmet from Rudolph's head and hitting him with it.
Rudolph, it seems, is a guy who won't back down from a challenge -- though he did express regret for his actions in that incident, which cost him $50,000 in fines.
Garrett, who was suspended by the league indefinitely for his actions, made allegations last week that Rudolph had made a racial slur toward him, charges Rudolph vehemently denied. The NFL found no substance to the allegation, but Rudolph was forced to deal with the fallout from that last week.
He would not, however, use that as an excuse for his poor play against the Bengals. Rudolph was 8 of 16 for 85 yards and an interception when he was pulled in favor of Hodges in the third quarter with the Steelers trailing 7-3.
"No. I don't think it did at all," Rudolph said when asked if it had affected his play last week. "I was cleared after that last allegation. Once I moved forward, I was clear headed and ready to play Cincinnati. I've just got to play better. Obviously, you'll make corrections, get better and move on. I think I will and I'll be ready when my number is called."
Hodges, an undrafted rookie, rallied the Steelers to a win and Tomlin named him the starter -- at least this week -- against the Browns.
The Steelers aren't giving up on the 2018 third-round draft pick. They still believe in the 24-year-old quarterback.
"Everything that we do in football, as in life, we can learn from," Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "If we choose to make it a positive, we will. If we choose to make it a negative, then I don’t know that anyone is going to grow. I know he is going to choose it to be a positive in some way."
As Rudolph said, he's been through this before. And he can lean on how he responded in those instances. And in both cases, when he got the chance to play again, he made the most of it.
"You handle it with a good attitude and a team-first attitude," Rudolph said. "I can only control how I act and how hard I prepare. You're one play away. I'm going to support (Hodges) and be ready for sure."
Rudolph and Hodges have been put in this situation because of a season-ending injury to starter Ben Roethlisberger in Week 2.
Rudolph has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 1,636 yards with 12 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. But he had nine touchdown passes and three interceptions in his first six starts and one touchdown and five interceptions in his last two, including four turnovers in that loss to the Browns.
Some felt Tomlin might have made the decision to go with Hodges over Rudolph not just based on his play, but also based on what happened in the last game. Thirty-three players received fines after that game and three were suspended.
Last Sunday, fans in Cleveland took turns hitting a piñata with Rudolph's face on it with a Steelers helmet.
Cleveland’s newest game: Mason Rudolph piñata. pic.twitter.com/qxst1rSwzS
— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) November 24, 2019
"That's what a rivalry is all about," Rudolph said, laughing off the video. "You look forward to playing in those type of games. I'm used to those kind of rivalry weeks."
Just like he's not new to being benched. He doesn't like it. But he will accept it, move forward and try to learn from it and get better.
"(Tomlin) said this isn't a final decision," Rudolph said. "Any player wants a chance to play every week. I'm going to continue to work and grow."
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