Rudolph finally got that chance last season, his sixth year in the NFL, with the Tennessee Titans after spending his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rudolph went 1-4 in five starts for the Titans, who finished the season with a league-worst 3-14 record.

Rudolph returned to the Steelers in the offseason as a free agent. He may be pressed into a starting role against the Bears in Chicago after starter Aaron Rodgers sustained a minor fracture in his left wrist last Sunday in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rodgers was injured in the last minute of the second quarter and did not return with the Steelers clinging to a 10-6 lead. Rudolph played the second half and completed 12 of 16 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown as the Steelers pulled away for a 32-12 victory. At 30, Rudolph is better equipped to step into the fray than when he was younger.

"You have to be chomping at the bit every time your number's called, otherwise you're going to miss an opportunity, and you won't be in the right mental state," Rudolph said. "But I've been back and forth. I got plenty of experience of going back and forth in different roles. It's part of what's probably chilled out my personality a little bit, because I just say screw it and I just roll with the punches."

That attitude works for Rudolph. He has a 9-8-1 career record as a starter and stepped in for injured Kenny Pickett late in the 2023 season and led the Steelers to three straight wins and a playoff berth.

Rudolph will take most of the snaps with the first-team offense this week, with rookie third-string quarterback Will Howard also getting some work with the starters. Rodgers will likely practice on Friday when the Steelers are expected to determine his status for Sunday.

"It was nice working with the first team offense quite a lot through training camp and into the preseason games, to kind of when you go in the huddle, it's not like there's a bunch of new faces that you hadn't worked with," Rudolph said. "So, that was good."