Tomlin says Rudolph is starting QB

It wouldn’t be accurate to call it an announcement. Maybe more of an affirmation. Either way, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin could barely be bothered to confirm, let alone declare, that Mason Rudolph will remain his starting quarterback.

“Yes,” Tomlin responded to reporters Wednesday. “If that makes you guys feel good.”

OK … but what about Devlin “Duck” Hodges, the feel-good story of an undrafted rookie who made his first NFL start and helped to lead the Steelers to a 24-17 win Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers while Rudolph was recovering from a concussion?

“Seriously, guys. That guy is our quarterback when he clears the protocol,” Tomlin said, meaning Rudolph. “It’s as simple as that. Appreciate the efforts of ‘Duck’ and so forth, but as soon as he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go.”

As of Wednesday night, Rudolph had cleared the protocol, allowing him to to return to full-contact activity.

That means Rudolph will be at quarterback for Week 8 against Miami after the Steelers enjoy their off week. Tomlin added that Rudolph would have been a full participant in practice Wednesday had the Steelers not canceled the second of two workouts during the open week.

The final step in the protocol was to be cleared by an independent neurological consultant.

“Really, there is no extreme urgency in terms of getting him out of the protocol, because we don’t work again until Monday,” Tomlin said earlier in the day. “He’s been fully cleared to participate in the things that we’ve been doing … so it’s probably semantics or whatever in terms of him getting clearance.”

Hodges is 1-0 in his pro career and it’s anyone’s guess when or if he’ll start again. Now that he has digested the film, Tomlin wasn’t overly complimentary of how Hodges performed against the Chargers.

“He didn’t kill us, and that’s what you need from young quarterbacks,” Tomlin said. “In general, he took care of the ball, he made the plays he needed to make, but we were thoughtful about the positions that we put him in.”

Also on the injury front, Tomlin essentially broke down his report into two categories: those who didn’t play Week 6 and those who left the game early.

On the former, he sounded encouraged by the progress of fullback Roosevelt Nix (knee), wide receiver James Washington (shoulder), linebacker Mark Barron (hamstring) and cornerback Steven Nelson (groin).

All four will attempt to practice next week when the team reconvenes.

As for James Conner (quadricep), Joe Haden (groin) and T.J. Watt (abdomen) — none of whom has missed a game this season — they might be limited next week in practice, but should have no issues suiting up thanks to the extra rest.

Running back Jaylen Samuels (knee) is still further away from a return than the others, but also “progressing nicely,” per Tomlin.

Sticking Tuitt

Tomlin also left no doubt that defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, will miss the rest of the season. Not great news for a pass rush that Tomlin called a “catalyst” for the defense’s success, but there are options for replacing his presence, and those options apparently begin with more playing time for Javon Hargrave.

“He did that a year ago. Stephon missed a block of games a year ago and he was highly productive,” Tomlin said. “That won’t be a new discussion. Obviously, he’ll be first up in terms of assuming some of those responsibilities, but he’s proven that he’s capable of that in the past.”

There’s also a chance for rookie sixth-rounder Isaiah Buggs, who has yet to be active for a game, to get his shot.

“We’ll see. Definitely not expecting him to provide a Tuitt-like effort,” Tomlin said. “But we’ll see if he’s ready for varsity action.”

Buggs figures to compe with veteran lineman L.T. Walton, whom the Steelers signed Tuesday after having him on the roster the past four seasons. Tomlin noted his familiarity with the franchise and that he is “physically ready to go” after being without a team since the end of the preseason.

Tuitt was scheduled to have surgery as soon as Wednesday.

Snell, actually …

You might assume that Tomlin came away from the game against the Chargers with renewed confidence in rookie Benny Snell, who did not touch the ball the week before against Baltimore but had 17 rushes for 75 yards versus Los Angeles, the most by a Steelers running back this season.

Instead, Tomlin insisted he knew Snell had that in him.

“I’m not surprised by that performance,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes, it’s just the man and the opportunity. We’ve seen signs of that. We’ve talked openly about his level of production on special teams and that being an indicator of offensive or defensive readiness in a lot of instances with young guys.”