Pittsburgh Steelers sign journeyman Kyle Allen as third quarterback

The Steelers revamped its quarterback position this off season. All that was missing was a third guy. Now we know who is filling the spot.

Earlier this week, the Steelers announced the signing of Kyle Allen, who is starting his seventh year in the NFL. Pittsburgh becomes his sixth NFL team. He last served as a backup to Josh Allen at Buffalo. Coincidentally, Mitch Trubisky, who was a Steelers backup at quarterback last season, signed with the Bills to fill the same role.

The Steelers signed Allen to a one-year deal, which will pay him a $1.125 million base, with a $167,500 signing bonus. The only guaranteed money is the signing bonus.

So this all means that the Steelers completed their quarterback renovation on the cheap. Pittsburgh signed Russell Wilson last month to a one-year contract that’ll pay him the NFL veteran minimum of $1.25 million. Of course, the Broncos still are picking up most of Wilson’s salary, paying him a guaranteed $38 million.

Meanwhile, the Steelers traded for Justin Fields, who is in the fourth year of his rookie contract. The team has until May 2 to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option. Otherwise, Fields will make roughly $3.2 million.

All quarterbacks on the roster last year are no longer there. The Steelers traded Kenny Pickett, at his request, to the Eagles. Mason Rudolph, who started the last four games of the season, signed with the Tennessee Titans. Trubisky was the early mover as he headed to the Bills.

Pittsburgh used all three of their quarterbacks on last year’s roster after Pickett sprained an ankle and needed surgery. So the Nos. 2 and 3 guys are important. Presumably, Wilson is QB1, at least for now. Coach Mike Tomlin recently borrowed from the racing world vernacular, saying Wilson was in the “pole” position. Of course, Fields also is capable of starting. He’d been doing so for the Bears for three years.

Then there’s Allen. And he also can do more than hold the proverbial clipboard. The Panthers signed Allen as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Allen was a one-time, five-star college football recruit. He originally signed with Texas A&M, where he was teammates with Kyler Murray, the eventual No. 1 player selected int he NFL Draft. Allen transferred to the University of Houston. Then he skipped his senior year to declare for the draft.

Since he joined the league, Allen has made stops in Carolina and Washington. He went back to Houston as a reserve quarterback for the Texans. And he spent this past season in Buffalo. Allen has started 19 career games, with 12 of them coming in 2019 with the Panthers.

Overall, he has played 30 games, completing 441 of 704 passes for 4,734 yards and 26 touchdowns. He does have a dual-threat element to his game, with 162 yards on 65 rushes with four touchdowns.

Allen was with the Bills in a backup role in 2023, seeing action in seven games with no pass attempts.