The fourth-team quarterback doesn’t get a ton of reps during training camp practices. There are only so many reps to go around. Undrafted rookie QB John Rhys Plumlee got extra work over the first week and a half of training camp due to Russell Wilson sitting out of practice with a calf injury, but since Wilson returned there have been less opportunities for him to get practice reps.
That isn’t stopping the Pittsburgh Steelers from experimenting with him in other roles. At today’s practice Plumlee worked at wide receiver, per Alex Kozora on X.
The wide receiver position isn’t completely foreign to Plumlee. He spent over a year at Ole Miss as a wide receiver in college. He started his college career as a quarterback for Ole Miss before becoming a receiver. He then transferred to UCF and returned to the quarterback position. He had 26 receptions for 296 yards as a receiver in college.
Plumlee didn’t get any snaps at quarterback during the first preseason game last Friday, but the Steelers used him in a number of other ways. He was one of the two return men in the landing zone during kickoffs with the new rules. He was also the up back on the punt team and made a special teams tackle.
Plumlee measured in at his UCF pro day at 5116, 203 pounds. He ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash and posted some great explosion numbers, including a 36 1/2-inch vertical jump. He is a great athlete for the quarterback position, and with his previous experience at receiver it isn’t a huge surprise for him to get some practice reps there.
The Steelers made Plumlee the highest-paid undrafted free agent signing in team history this year when they gave him a $35,000 signing bonus. Some teams offer that amount (or more) regularly, but the Steelers rarely give large signing bonuses to the undrafted free agents.
The only problem is, Plumlee told the media earlier in the offseason that he came to Pittsburgh because the Steelers believed in him as a quarterback. When you are fighting for a roster spot, I would imagine you do whatever the team asks of you. That appears to be what he is doing with various roles on special teams and now some wide receiver snaps coming his way.
Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are firmly the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart, and veteran journeyman Kyle Allen seems to have a pretty strong grip on the No. 3 job. If Plumlee sticks around, even on the practice squad, it will be because of the variety of hats he can wear. Most notably on special teams. With Cordarrelle Patterson off the NFI list and practicing with the team, it will be interesting to see the return pairings next time they practice kick returns. Plumlee might be pushed further down the list.
