diff --git a/manifests/function/rook-operator/kustomization.yaml b/manifests/function/rook-operator/kustomization.yaml
index c269a85e5..39d8910a9 100644
--- a/manifests/function/rook-operator/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/manifests/function/rook-operator/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
 resources:
 - upstream
+patchesStrategicMerge:
+- rook-operator-patch-tolerations.yaml
diff --git a/manifests/function/rook-operator/rook-operator-patch-tolerations.yaml b/manifests/function/rook-operator/rook-operator-patch-tolerations.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5a39802c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/manifests/function/rook-operator/rook-operator-patch-tolerations.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: rook-ceph-operator
+  namespace: rook-ceph # namespace:operator
+spec:
+  template:
+    spec:
+      tolerations:
+      # Mark the pod as a critical add-on for rescheduling.
+      - key: CriticalAddonsOnly
+        operator: Exists
+      - key: node-role.kubernetes.io/master
+        effect: NoSchedule