One of the position rooms that the Pittsburgh Steelers overhauled this offseason was the quarterback room. Last year, the team rostered Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. With all three of them either traded or not re-signed, the Steelers went in a new direction.
While the Steelers signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields, they also signed veteran journeyman Kyle Allen. With a unique quarterback room and the Steelers rich culture, Allen felt it was right to sign with Pittsburgh.
“It’s always been a good program,” Allen told Alan Saunders of Steelers Now. “Interesting [quarterback] room, interesting situation so when an opportunity came up I was excited. It was [a] pretty easy [decision] for me.”
While Allen will not be the starter for the Steelers, barring injuries to the two guys ahead of him, he brings a ton of game-ready experience to the roster. That is what he considers to be his biggest strength as a backup quarterback.
“I am just good in my role,” Allen said. “I have played every year of my career. All six years I have played snaps. I have always been ready when I had to go in. I just feel like I have been around a ton of ball, I am always supportive of the guys in the room… You don’t find a lot of guys that are jab at competition. I am always just trying to make everybody better and help the team win.”
Before landing in Pittsburgh, Allen has played for Carolina, Washington, Houston and Buffalo. Coming out of college after being benched in his last season, Allen was not a hot commodity by any means but the Panthers gave him a chance.
After not really playing during his rookie season, Allen burst onto the scene in place of an injured Cam Newton. That one season has catapulted Allen into many different job opportunities and still credits it as the season that put him on “the map.”
“That second year when I played a bunch of games, it put me on the map a little bit,” Allen said. “I played that game my rookie year which was good for me personally but after I started a good amount of games and won some games, some things started to change around me.”
With Allen in town, the Steelers quarterback room is rounded out. He will likely be the third-string guy when the first week of the season rolls around. Regardless, if the Steelers need Allen to play meaningful snaps, he will be ready and confident to do it.
4 • Kyle Allen, Quarterback, Houston
6-foot-3, 210 pounds, 28 years old, 7th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Allen as an undrafted free agent on March 25, 2024. Allen agreed to a one-year contract with the Steelers after spending last season in Buffalo.
Last season: Last season, Allen signed and agreed to become the top backup to Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills. He played in seven games for the Bills in 2023 without recording a pass. In those appearances, Allen served as the quarterback in the “victory” formation which means his only game time came on kneel downs.
Career: The Carolina Panthers signed Allen as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Allen appeared in two games and started one of them. In his second season, Allen became the fill-in starter for the injured Cam Newton.
Allen led the Panthers to five straight victories, throwing nine touchdowns and zero interceptions in that span, before coming back down to earth later in the season. At the end of the year, the Panthers decided to bench Allen for rookie Will Grier. In total, Allen started 12 of his 13 appearances and threw for 3,322 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Prior to the 2020 season, Allen was traded to the Washington Football Team for a fifth-round pick. He started four games, threw four touchdowns and one interception. The next season, Allen appeared in just two games and threw just one touchdown.
For the 2022 season, Allen was a free agent and decided to sign with the Houston Texans. Allen started two games and threw for just two scores compared to four interceptions.
In his NFL career, Allen has started 19 games, winning seven of them. He has totaled 4,734 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | CMP | ATT | CMP % | YDS | TD | INT |
| 2018 | CAR | 2 | 1 | 20 | 31 | 64.5 | 266 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | CAR | 13 | 12 | 303 | 489 | 62 | 3,322 | 17 | 16 |
| 2020 | WAS | 4 | 4 | 60 | 87 | 69 | 610 | 4 | 1 |
| 2021 | WAS | 2 | 0 | 12 | 19 | 63.2 | 120 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | HOU | 2 | 2 | 46 | 78 | 59 | 416 | 2 | 4 |
| 2023 | BUF | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
College: Coming out of high school, Allen was rated as the nation’s top quarterback recruit. He chose to begin his collegiate career in College Station and committed to Texas A&M. As a freshman, Allen barely lost the competition to begin the year as a starter but ended up starting the last five games of the season. He finished his true freshman season was an impressive 16 touchdown to seven interception ratio.
Allen entered his sophomore season with the starting job in hand. Allen led the SEC in passing efficiency and led the Aggies to a 5-0 start but things quickly went down hill against Alabama. Allen threw three interception in a beatdown loss and then followed it up with an equally bad start against Ole Miss. Allen was then benched for Kyler Murray.
Following the season, Allen transferred to Houston where he had to sit out a full season due to the NCAA’s transfer policy.
As a senior, Allen started the season as the Cougars starter but was benched in the third game of the season. After only starting three games at Houston, Allen declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.
| Year | School | GP | GS | CMP | ATT | CMP % | YDS | TD | INT |
| 2014 | Texas A&M | 9 | 5 | 118 | 192 | 61 | 1,322 | 16 | 7 |
| 2015 | Texas A&M | 11 | 9 | 160 | 283 | 57 | 2,210 | 17 | 7 |
| 2016 | Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Houston | 5 | 3 | 80 | 105 | 76 | 771 | 4 | 4 |
Salary cap and future: Allen signed a one-year deal with the Steelers this offseason. He will become an unrestricted free agent following the 2024 season. His contract is worth $1.15 million in total with $1.125 million being base salary and the other $167,500 being a signing bonus.
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