The Pittsburgh Steelers have completely remade their quarterback room this month, signing star Russell Wilson and trading for the young Justin Fields.
Now the Steelers have added a former Bills quarterback as their third stringer, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
“Steelers are signing former Bills QB Kyle Allen to backup Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.”
Most recently with Buffalo before joining the Steelers, Allen played in seven games last season for the Bills. He didn't attempt a pass and kneeled 13 times for -13 yards.
Previously, Allen played for the Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, and Houston Texans. His biggest year came with the Panthers in 2019, when he started 12 games, going 5-7. He completed 62 percent of his passes that season for 3,322 yards and 17 touchdowns to go with 16 interceptions.
Pittsburgh remakes their quarterback room
The Steelers signed quarterback Russell Wilson on a minimum deal after the Denver Broncos cut him and traded for Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields ahead of his old team reportedly all but assured to be drafting Caleb Williams No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite Fields being the younger, (often) more effective signal-caller these days, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says Wilson has a leg up in the starting quarterback completion, and he’s not wavering on that sentiment.
There is plenty of debate among Steelers fans and in the NFL world as to whether Russell Wilson or Justin Fields should be the Steelers starting QB come September. For now, though, Mike Tomlin says the veteran is the leader in the clubhouse.
“Steelers coach Mike Tomlin reiterated that Russell Wilson ‘has pole position’ to be the starting QB,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday.
While this may frustrate fans who would like to see the younger signal-caller get a chance first before the seemingly washed veteran, Tomlin also had a lot of good things to say about Fields and even suggested that the “pole position” is only due to offseason concerns.
Tomlin also said that Fields will get a fair shake from his new coach and organization.
“I'm not judging anything that was done in Chicago. That's not my business. I just look at the pedigree and the talent, the things that are not relative to coaching,” Tomlin told reporters.
Additionally, the most telling thing that the Steelers coach said to the media is that the reason he is more comfortable with Wilson at this moment is because of what he expects this offseason.
That seems to suggest that Tomlin is giving Wilson the nod at this point due to his veteran status when it comes to organizing offseason training sessions with the rest of the offense.
Whether that means there will be a second quarterback competition between the two once camp opens up is yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure. Allen will be in place as the Steelers' third stringer.
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