With the Pittsburgh Steelers signing free agent Russell Wilson, and trading for Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears, the team has already addressed the major gaps in the quarterback position.

However, the third string quarterback spot was still open, leaving many to believe the Steelers would use a Day 3 draft pick in April to fill the void.

Joe Milton, Jordan Travis, and Spencer Rattler were all names speculated amongst Steeler Nation for weeks, but the Steelers have seemingly addressed the need ahead of the draft.

Pittsburgh has signed quarterback Kyle Allen to be the third string quarterback for the Steelers.

Allen was under contract with the Buffalo Bills last season, backing up some other guy named Josh Allen who was the starter.

Kyle Allen attempted just 13 passes last season with the Bills, following almost the team’s exact plan for him.

Allen does have six years of NFL experience however. The veteran most recently started 2 games for the Houston Texans in 2022, where he completed 59% of his passes, threw 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Over his 30 games (19 starts), Allen has is 7-12 with a 62.6% completion percentage, 4734 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

His biggest chunk of playing time came in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers. Allen played in 13 games (starting 12 of them), completing 62.0% of his passes for 3332 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He led the NFL in sack yards lost that season, with an astounding 397.

Allen won his first four starts in Carolina and five of his first six, before losing six consecutive games as the Panthers collapsed.

The signing, while not a sexy move by the Steelers, is a sneaky good one. It establishes a experienced player in the third string QB role, but more importantly, it eliminates a potential draft need for the Steelers.

Sure, any one of Milton, Travis, or Rattler may have been an intriguing pick to take a flyer on, but this Steelers team has several holes and depth issues that need addressed. Ideally, you would not be using some of that vital draft capital on someone who would very likely be just a third string guy (for 2024, anyways).

Instead, they can invest one of those later round picks in another area of the team.

(Featured photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)