Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted free agent QB John Rhys Plumlee was selected in the 2024 United Football League (UFL) college draft on Thursday, getting selected by the Arlington Renegades with the third overall pick.
Players eligible to be selected in the UFL Draft are college players who were eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft but were not selected. UFL teams that select a player exclusively hold onto his rights until that player reports to the team or a team gives up his rights. For example, if an undrafted free agent made an NFL roster and was playing well, the UFL team could relinquish the rights if there’s no chance that he’ll play for that team.
Even players who sign a UFL contract will be free to leave if an NFL team wants to bring them in until Dec. 31, 2024.
Ahead of tomorrow’s 2024 UFL College Draft, let’s take a look at the rules 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xnhxnlj5l2
— United Football League (@TheUFL) July 16, 2024
Plumlee was the highest-paid undrafted free agent in Steelers history after a college career spent between Ole Miss and UCF. For his career, he threw for 5,838 yards and 34 touchdowns with 19 interceptions. He added 2,556 yards on the ground and 28 touchdowns while also catching 26 passes in his career.
His athleticism made him a potential candidate to move to wide receiver in the NFL, but in Pittsburgh, he’s worked as the fourth quarterback behind Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen.
He’s a longshot to make Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster, but he could latch on with another team or be a practice squad candidate in Pittsburgh or elsewhere. If that doesn’t happen, Plumlee will have the opportunity to play for the Renegades next season. Arlington’s quarterback room currently consists of Lindsey Scott Jr., Holton Ahlers and Luis Perez.
Plumlee will have an opportunity to try and stick with Pittsburgh when training camp begins in Latrobe, Pa., next week. It’s going to be an uphill battle for him to get reps, but he’ll likely get an opportunity in practice at some point. He also fielded kickoffs during the final day of minicamp, and given his athleticism and speed, that could be an area where he could get some opportunities during training camp.
