No, Mason Rudolph wasn’t sliding into DMs during the Tennessee Titans’ 31-12 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
But social media sure did an excellent job of making some people believe that Rudolph was shooting his shot while filling in for an injured Will Levis. Perhaps it would be more believable that Rudolph was sliding into the DMs of an Instagram influencer who describes herself as “Earth’s No. 1 Female Handicapper” if he wasn’t actually playing Monday. But a Levis injury forced him into action in Miami, making Rudolph’s “Still in Miami” DM less plausible.
It turns out it was a screenshot from months ago. But that didn’t stop Amanda Casey Vance, a former Dolphins cheerleader who is also a huge Pittsburgh Steelers and her boyfriend, Joey Mauriello (“Betr JoJo” of Jake Paul’s sports gaming and media company), from having a little fun at Mauriello (and Rudolph’s) expense.
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After leading the Titans to a 19-point win in his latest venture as a backup NFL quarterback, Rudolph wasn’t exactly asked about whether he was throwing passes in Instagram DMs. Instead, leave it to Green Bay Phoenix head men’s basketball coach and Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb to do the investigative journalism here.
Gottlieb asked Rudolph if it was an “unsolicited slide into the DMs” regarding what Casey Vance and her boyfriend attempted to portray for social media likes.
“It was not an unsolicited slide into her DMs?” –@GottliebShow
“No, it was a response and it was about eight months ago. It was definitely not in between second down going to third down, that’s for sure…” -@Rudoph2Mason
LISTEN-> https://t.co/AIieSzqHUN
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) October 1, 2024
“No, it was a response, and it was about eight months ago,” Rudolph replied via Fox Sports Radio. “It was definitely not in between second down going to third down, that’s for sure…”
But Rudolph also gave credit where credit is due. Sometimes, you have to tip your hat, no matter how ridiculous this seems.
“But a good frame job. A good frame job for a little 15 seconds of fame, I guess,” he says.
Because if an NFL quarterback does actually slide into someone’s DMs while playing an NFL game, it might just become one of the bigger sports stories of the year.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.