Steelers Free Agent Analysis: Kyle Allen
Position: Quarterback
Experience: 7 Years (1 with Steelers)
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
2024 Salary Cap Hit: $1,152,500
2024 Season Breakdown:
The Steelers completed their new-look quarterback room last season with Kyle Allen, serving as the No. 3. Prior to his signing, they had added Russell Wilson and then traded for Justin Fields. While they paid lip service to a “competition”, Allen was obviously never a part of that conversation.
A former undrafted free agent, Kyle Allen has seven NFL seasons under his belt, one with the Steelers. He has a surprising 19 starts in his career, though with a 7-12 record, mostly in 2019. He has bounced around the league a fair bit, never spending more than two seasons in one city.
Prior to signing with the Steelers, Kyle Allen was most recently with the Buffalo Bills. He saw his most playing time with the Carolina Panthers in 2019 but also started four games the following season for the Washington Commanders.
With the Steelers, Allen played a whopping two snaps, though he did throw a pass. That came in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, a 19-yard completion to Pat Freiermuth on 2nd and 5. Justin Fields was banged up two plays earlier on a roughing-the-passer penalty but returned after Allen’s completion. He followed up with a 16-yard touchdown pass to—say it with me—Connor Heyward, a fourth consecutive completion.
And that was it. Up until then, Allen was dressing as the Steelers’ No. 2 quarterback because Russell Wilson was still dealing with a calf injury. The following week, Wilson was healthy enough to serve as the No. 2 and then started the rest of the year.
Free Agency Outlook:
The Steelers signed Kyle Allen to a one-year, Veteran Salary Benefit deal, and he did nothing to improve his market value in the Black and Gold. He also did nothing to hurt it, so it’s a push. There is no reason to think he will be viewed any differently than he was a year ago, which is as a minimum-salary player.
While Allen has served as a primary No. 2 in the past, I think teams recognize he is best as a third option. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Steelers re-signed him, just to fill out the room. After all, right now, all they have on the roster is Skylar Thompson.
The Steelers have a long list of free agents this year, but not absolutely can’t-lose names. While it includes significant players like Najee Harris and Dan Moore Jr., they are not the team’s priority. The biggest question is the quarterback position, working to choose between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. There are some choice role players, but they wouldn’t fall apart if they lost the entire lot—minus a quarterback.
The Steelers have some key needs this offseason, and they may add to those needs through termination. This is an offseason on which they should focus on cleaning out some dead weight, which has accumulated over time. Perhaps they will turn over the free agents more often than usual, going back to the outside well.
