Antonio Pierce Names QB Raiders Would’ve Added if He Didn’t Get Fired
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders already made his NFL debut in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens, but he now gets to make his first start in Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders. While both teams are 2-8 and among the worst teams in the league, Sanders getting his first start will draw a lot of attention to the game.
The Raiders were heavily linked to Sanders in the pre-draft process, especially when Antonio Pierce was still the head coach. There were even videos of Deion Sanders telling Pierce to draft his sons.
The team ended up firing Pierce and replacing him with Pete Carroll. They traded for Geno Smith and decided against drafting a quarterback until they took Cam Miller in the sixth round. According to Pierce, that wouldn’t have been the case if he hadn’t lost his job.
He revealed that the Raiders were high on Sanders while he was there, and they would’ve drafted him at some point.
“When I was with the Raiders, he was one of our top choices,” Pierce said on CBS. “If I would’ve stayed there, there’s no way he gets to the fifth round.”
Would Raiders Have Been Better Off With Sanders?
Taking Sanders in the first two rounds clearly would’ve been a mistake by the Raiders. He wasn’t valued highly around the NFL. However, once he dropped to the fourth round (the Raiders didn’t have a fifth-round pick in 2025), the risk would’ve been minimal.
Yes, he brings a lot of unnecessary attention to a team, but the Raiders are 2-8 without him. At least with him on the roster, the team could have an interesting quarterback prospect developing. Miller has been on the practice squad all season, so it’s hard to imagine he has much of an NFL future as a starter.
Fourth-round pick Tonka Hemingway has only been active for four games this season, and the Raiders don’t seem interested in playing him much. That pick could’ve been used to draft Sanders, who at least has a slight chance of being the quarterback of the future. The Raiders have their reasons for not being more aggressive in adding a quarterback, but with Geno Smith playing so poorly, it’s hard to justify any of those reasons.
Raiders Coach Praises Sanders
The Raiders’ defense is coming off a rough showing against the Dallas Cowboys, so they’ll be eager to play against a struggling offense with a rookie quarterback making his first start. There’s no doubt the Raiders have a big advantage against the Browns’ offense.
However, they can’t underestimate Sanders just because he had a rough game against the Ravens. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham knows that the quarterback can make big plays.
“When you watch the tape that stands out, I mean, he can make the throws,” Graham told reporters on Thursday. “I mean, there’s some throws, even last week, some throws in the preseason that were pretty good. The one down the red area where or two, I think, in the red area, he found him on broken plays or loose plays. He does a good job. He can throw the football, can definitely do that.”
Mike Tomlin Speaks out on Mason Rudolph After Steelers Loss to Bears
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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach addressed how he thought quarterback Mason Rudolph played in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears.
Quarterback Mason Rudolph completed a high percentage of his passes for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first start of the 2025 NFL season. But Rudolph didn’t throw for very many yards and turned the ball over twice in a 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Head coach Mike Tomlin addressed how he felt Rudolph performed in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers in Week 12.
“I thought he was game. He always is. He made plays for us, particularly in the fourth quarter,” Tomlin told reporters. “But as a collectively, him included, we didn’t do enough to win.”
Rudolph completed 24 of 31 passes for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also took two sacks, one of which resulted in a lost fumble.
Rudolph averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt.
Mason Rudolph, Steelers Fall Short in Chicago
Rudolph threw an interception on his first pass of the afternoon. He and the offense then responded with a 13-play, 95-yard drive, though, to tie the game at seven.
Rudolph connected with D.K. Metcalf on a 6-yard swing toss for the score, which was a backwards lateral and counted as a Metcalf rushing touchdown.
But the Steelers offense didn’t have a really strong drive again until the fourth quarter.
While trailing by 10 points, Rudolph orchestrated a 17-play, 73-yard drive to pull within three midway through the fourth quarter. The Steelers had an opportunity to put together a go-ahead or game-tying drive twice after that. But the offense stalled both times.
In the final minute of regulation, the Steelers were about 10 yards outside of fringe-Chris Boswell field goal territory. But they gained just four yards on the next three plays, and then Rudolph threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six.
On the drive before that, Rudolph had a long run to convert a third down, but an illegal formation penalty wiped out the big gain.
The Steelers rushed for a season-high 186 and average 5.2 yards per carry. But with Rudolph making his first start, the team averaged just 4.8 yards per pass.
Will Aaron Rodgers Start in Week 13 versus Bills?
Rudolph practiced with the first-team offense throughout the week before the Steelers face the Bears. Yet, pundits still considered his start surprising.
Rodgers entered Sunday questionable with a fracture in his left wrist. Rodgers practiced in limited fashion Thursday and Friday.
Tomlin explained to reporters after Sunday’s loss that Rodgers was ready to play, but that he made the “prudent” decision.
“Certainly, it wasn’t a fluid week for [Rodgers],” Tomlin said. “It was a fluid week for Mason in terms of reps and so forth. And so, I think it will be in our rearview as we move forward. I’m hopeful of that.”
Tomlin said at the beginning of his postgame press conference that he anticipates Rodgers being ready to start next Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. But when asked a specific follow-up question on Rodgers, Rudolph and Week 13, Tomlin declined to elaborate further.
“I’ll talk to you guys about next week, next week,” Tomlin said. “I’m here to analyze what just transpired.”
By all accounts, Rodgers was close to playing Sunday. So, with one more week of rest and practice repetitions, the safe assumption is Rodgers will be ready to return in Week 13.
The Steelers might have to beat the Bills to stay in a tie for first place of the AFC North. With Sunday’s loss in Chicago, the Steelers dropped into a first-place tie with the Baltimore Ravens at the top of the division.
The Ravens will face the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving night.
