Steelers A to Z: Kyle Allen the ‘other’ veteran quarterback acquired this spring

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

QB KYLE ALLEN

Experience/age: 7^th season, 28

Contract status: $1.153 million cap hit in 2024, unrestricted free agent after the season

The past: A blue-chip recruiting prospect coming out of high school, Allen began his college career at Texas A&M and ended it at the University of Houston – where he was benched. That mediocre college résumé led to Allen not being drafted in 2018 despite a skillset befitting an NFL quarterback. Allen made good on the latter by not only making the Carolina Panthers roster as a rookie but starting a game. The following year Allen started 12 times, going 5-7. He then followed fired Carolina coach Ron Rivera to Washington, where he made four starts in 2020. Two years later, Allen joined the Houston Texans and made two starts. Last season, Allen did not have a pass attempt as the primary backup to Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen (no relation). The Steelers signed him to a one-year deal in March to serve as their QB3 in 2024.

2024 outlook: Allen is part of a position room that includes two big-name QBs who served as primary starters last season in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. The Steelers also added John Rhys Plumlee as an undrafted free agent rookie.

Though there is no scenario where Allen could “beat out” Wilson and Fields over the next few months, both he and the Steelers know as well as anyone that circumstances sometimes compel a team to turn to its third-stringer. Injury, of course, is one route. But look no further than the Steelers of last season to see an example of a third quarterback (Mason Rudolph) who ended up out-performing the two men ahead of him on the depth chart and effectively saved their season. Allen, as well, has never entered an offseason prominently in a team’s plans but has managed to appear in a game during each of his six NFL seasons and make at least one start in four of them. Allen is 7-12 as a starter with an 82.2 career passer rating and 26 touchdown passes with 21 interceptions. With so much attention on Wilson and Fields, it isn’t expected – and is highly unlikely – that Allen will make much of an impact with the 2024 Steelers. Then again, that was said about Rudolph at this time last year.