Mason Rudolph practiced on Wednesday. He remains in the concussion protocol. But his return to the practice field is obviously a good sign that he is progressing.

After watching his body go lifeless on the field for a few seconds, the report of Mason Rudolph returning to practice is encouraging. He is still in the concussion protocol, which means he will need to be cleared by an independent doctor. If he can't go, Devlin Hodges will start against the Chargers in L.A.

Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph was at the team’s facility on Monday and reports from media members on hand said that he looked to be in good spirits while visiting with his teammates a day after he was knocked unconscious during an overtime loss to the Ravens.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had a similar read on how the quarterback is doing. He said during a Tuesday press conference that Rudolph “appears to be doing fine” after going to the hospital for evaluation on Sunday.

Related players: Devlin Hodges

Rudolph must still clear concussion protocol, something he has not done, and the Steelers say there is no timetable for when that could happen. It looks like Hodges will be starting in Week 6.

How the NFL world rolls: Undrafted "camp arm" Devlin Hodges (Samford) expected to start this week for Steelers.

Related players: Mason Rudolph, Paxton Lynch

Rudolph, of course, suffered a concussion and didn't look good in the moments following the hit so it's possible Hodges gets a couple of starts. Former first-round pick Lynch is likely promoted from practice squad as Hodges' backup, Mort went on to say.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph suffered what appeared to be a serious head injury during the second half of Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Related players: Devlin Hodges

Rudolph appeared to go limp immediately after being struck by Thomas and fell to the turf at Heinz Field and did not move for several minutes. Rudolph eventually was able to get up with the help of teammates and the Pittsburgh training staff and slowly walked to the sideline and into the locker room.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be out for the season, the team announced Monday.

Related players: Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges

The team said Ben had an MRI Sunday evening and it was determined elbow surgery would be required. It wasn't looking good since it was a non-contact injury and Roethlisberger never returned to the game. Rudolph takes over for the rest of the season and the team promoted Hodges from the practice squad.

The team liked Rudolph enough to trade Joshua Dobbs to the Jaguars a few weeks ago, so now the 0-2 Steelers will get a good look at Rudolph for the remainder of the year. The team will have to bring in another arm at some point to back up Rudolph. Rudolph played pretty well trying to rally the Steelers in Week 2, throwing for a 112 yards and two TDs with an INT. With James Conner possibly also missing team, the Steeler offense has taken some hits.