The Pittsburgh Steelers swept their quarterback room clean after the 2023 season and brought in three new players: Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen. Head Coach Mike Tomlin said the original plan was for Wilson to start. It made the most sense since he is the most proven of the three, having gone to nine Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl. Fields would back him up, and Allen would be the third-string.
Things rarely work out how the coach intends in football, which was certainly the case in the Steel City. Wilson was injured well before the start of the season, which forced Fields to step up. However, it also forced Allen to do the same. Due to his injury, Wilson went to the back of the line, so they wouldn't use him unless it was an absolute emergency.
Allen isn't a rookie. He went undrafted in 2018 and has spent time on several teams backing up players like Cam Newton and Josh Allen. He has even started games, like when Dwayne Haskins (who would later become a Steeler), was benched by the Washington Football Team (now the Commanders). He also started for the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans when they had injuries, so he knows what it takes.
He recently joined his new teammate, Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz, on his show, The Christian Kuntz Podcast. Kuntz asked Allen about the pressure of being a backup, and he shared that people often come up to him and tell him he has the easiest job in the world. However, they have no idea just how complex being the backup can be.
"I'm sh***ing my pants on the sideline every week watching Justin [Fields] get fileted by a D-end. The one underrated thing stress-wise about that is, especially like Justin's tough now. Like Justin's going to take licks and get up, he's tough. I learned that about him. He's tough. But you get some guys who, it's easy to get hurt out there. Whenever we call like a deep dropback pass or like a quarterback run, I'm like, 'Oh God!' You see me doing high knees on the sideline in case I gotta get in. That is always my game-day stress. I gotta be ready to go, and I don't know when it is."
Allen said another key component is knowing the guy you're backing up and building a relationship with him. Now that he's worked with so many quarterbacks, he's seen how individualized they all are. Some are calmer, and some are more frantic. Some are more open to hearing what the backup says, and some are not. The backup has to know what they need.
Kuntz said he would argue Allen has one of the hardest jobs in the league. Everything runs through the quarterback, and as a second—or third-string player, you spend most of the practice pretending to lead the upcoming opponent's offense for Pittsburgh's defense. However, you must also know the Steelers' offense if needed.
Steelers' Russell Wilson Possibly Ready Soon
The Steelers are at 3-1 heading into the Week 5 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Once again, Fields will be under center. Reports have been coming out this week that Wilson is nearly ready to start. It is hard to imagine Tomlin going against the hot hand and benching Fields.
That leaves questions about what will happen with Wilson. He is in Pittsburgh hoping to show that he can still play at a high level, whether to remain in the Steel City or get signed by another team. So when he is fully healed, how will he take staying on the bench? Some feel like he will be very upset and that he has been lied to since Tomlin told everyone Wilson had "pole position."
In the meantime, Fields is having the best start to a season in his whole career. He also seems to be improving weekly under Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. The players are getting behind having Fields as the starter since after all, winning means the most.
