Kevin Colbert: If season started today, Mason…

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With Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Steelers will enter a season with a new starting quarterback for the first time in 18 years.

There’s a ton of time before Week One and the offseason quarterback carousel hasn’t even begun to spin. But at this point, there’s one man in line to take over as Pittsburgh’s QB1 — Mason Rudolph.

“If we started a season today, Mason would be our starter,” General Manager Kevin Colbert said on Monday, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “He’s 5-4-1 as a starter. We’re excited to see what’s next for Mason.”

A third-round pick in 2018, Rudolph started eight games for Pittsburgh in 2019 when Roethlisberger missed much all but two games due to an elbow injury. Rudolph completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,765 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions that season, as Pittsburgh went 5-3 in his starts.

Rudolph also started one game in 2020 and a game in 2021, the latter of which was a tie with Detroit.

Overall, Rudolph has thrown for 2,366 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 picks in 17 games.

Rudolph signed a one-year extension last April, putting him under contract with Pittsburgh through 2022.

Colbert mentioned the club plans to tender pending restricted free agent Dwayne Haskins, which would give Pittsburgh two QBs. But the team also plans to bring in more contenders.

“We know we’re going to add to the position,” Colbert said. “I can’t tell you how at this point. We will go to camp with four. If we had to start today with Mason as our starter, let’s go. We’ll try to build the best team around him.”

Aside from free agency and take options, the Steelers hold the 20th overall pick in the 2022 draft.