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b'Mason Rudolph and the Steelers have made clear what we long suspected \\u2013 it\\u2019s just a matter of time before Mason is your Steelers\\u2019 starting quarterback. This, after the team re-signed Rudolph this off-season, and he stands as the only team QB under contract for 2022. It might not be nearly that long before Rudolph is taking snaps under center for real. That\\u2019s because current Steelers starter and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger is age 39 and entering his 18th\\xa0season with the Steelers. No one knows how long he will last. Big Ben broke down coming down the stretch in 2020. This year, the NFL tacked on a 17th game, lengthening what is already the ultimate sport of attrition. All this means Rudolph\\u2019s wait to be anointed the once-and-future Steelers\\u2019 starter could be far shorter than fans think. So, the Steelers trotted out Rudolph this week after some OTA practices, as if to begin grooming him to take over the role as the face \\u2013 and mouth \\u2013 of the franchise. Largely, the assembled Steelers\\u2019 scribes seemed to buy it. Stories and tweets coming out of Mason\\u2019s media availability showed the press ready to roll over and revise Rudolph\\u2019s very shaky Steelers\\u2019 story. It is a ready-made script for\\xa0a redemptive second chapter for Rudolph just as \\u201cour hero\\u201d prepares to rise to become the starter in Pittsburgh. But the NFL rarely offers Hollywood endings to uncertain passers at the most difficult position in all of sports.\\xa0Still, the Steelers will give us this shotgun wedding with this shoo-in starter.\\xa0Just like marriage, it will be for better or worse, till death \\u2013 or divorce \\u2013 do they part. All I can say is,\\xa0speak now, or forever hold your peace, Steelers fans.\\xa0I\\u2019ve rounded up all the revisionist reaction to Mason Rudolph in this reality-dose edition of your Steelers Update Podcast. And be sure to check out my PennLive column first thing Thursday. It will be packed, as always, with plenty of memes bringing this week\\u2019s Steelers\\u2019 saga to life. Now listen up!\\xa0 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'