This month, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed superstar Russell Wilson and acquired young quarterback Justin Fields, completely overhauling their quarterback room.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the Steelers have now added a former Bills quarterback as their third string quarterback:
“Steelers are adding former Bills quarterback Kyle Allen to serve as Justin Fields and Russell Wilson’s backup.”
Allen appeared in seven games with the Bills during the previous season, most recently with Buffalo before joining the Steelers. He kneeled 13 times for a loss of 13 yards and made no throw attempts.
Allen was a player for the Houston Texans, Washington Commanders, and Carolina Panthers in the past. 2019 was his best season with the Panthers, starting 12 games and finishing 5-7.
That season, he completed 62% of his throws for 3,322 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.
Pittsburgh updates their quarterback’s room.
After being cut by the Denver Broncos and trading for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields ahead of his former team, which was apparently almost certain to select Caleb Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, quarterback Russell Wilson was signed by the Steelers on a minimal deal. Wilson has an advantage over Fields in the starting quarterback competition, according to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, and he’s not changing his mind despite Fields being the younger and (typically) more skilled signal-caller these days.
Whether Russell Wilson or Justin Fields should start as quarterback for the Steelers come September is a topic of much discussion among Steelers supporters and the NFL community. However, Mike Tomlin claims that the veteran is currently in charge of the clubhouse.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said on Monday that “Steelers coach Mike Tomlin reiterated that Russell Wilson ‘has pole position’ to be the starting QB.”
Fans who prefer to see the younger signal-caller get a chance before the allegedly washed-out veteran may become frustrated by this, but Tomlin also had a lot to say positive about Fields, even going so far as to imply that the “pole position” is only there because of offseason concerns.
The Steelers coach’s most telling statement to the media was that he feels more at ease with Wilson right now because of what he anticipates from this offseason.
That would seem to indicate that when it comes to setting up summer workouts with the other members of the offense, Tomlin is now favoring Wilson because of his experience.
It remains to be seen whether this implies there will be a second quarterback competition between the two when camp starts, but one thing is certain. Allen will start for the Steelers as their third string player.
