The 2023 season in the NFL was the year of the backup quarterback, or at least it has been dubbed that way, as 66 quarterbacks started games around the league. A look back to the year prior shows that 68 started in 2022. That means every team, on average, was forced to start a different QB than the one they entered the season with. The Pittsburgh Steelers had to start three with Kenny Pickett going down injured, Mitch Trubisky not getting the job done, and Mason Rudolph closing out the season as the starter.
The Steelers have a pretty established QB1 and QB2 for the 2024 season with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, but there figures to be a bit of a competition for QB3. Kyle Allen was signed in free agency and likely has the inside track over UDFA John Rhys Plumlee due to experience, though Plumlee did receive a record-breaking signing bonus for a Steelers UDFA.
Allen has played in games for four different organizations over his six-season career so far. He has never opened a season as the intended starter, but that doesn’t mean he has just been riding the bench.
“A lot of people that are not in the league say, oh, backup quarterback is the best job in the NFL. You don’t have to do anything, blah, blah, blah,’ ” said Allen via an interview conducted by Chris Adamski on TribLive. “But I have started games (at one point during each of four different seasons). I have played in games all six years of my career.
“I am not saying it’s going to happen this year — but it’s been inevitable, so I am always ready.”
He has started 19 games across four different seasons, including a 12-game stint as the starter in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers due to an injury to Cam Newton. He appeared in an additional 11 games. In 30 appearances, he has 441 completions on 704 attempts (62.6 completion percentage) for 4,734 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions.
To put that into perspective, Kenny Pickett started 24 games and appeared in 25, and had the exact same completion percentage while passing for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
Allen’s single-best game came in 2019 against the Arizona Cardinals where he had 19 completions on 26 attempts for 261 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. As far as backups go, Allen is a very solid QB3 option.
“I always felt like I could make it, but you know how football is, it’s circumstantial, it’s situational, there’s a lot of stuff out of your control,” Allen said via Adamski. “So I am happy to be here, and I’m preparing myself to be ready for this team.”
Let’s hope the Steelers don’t get into a situation where they are forced to start three different quarterbacks again in 2024. But if they do, they are in solid hands with Kyle Allen.
