The Steelers talked about using the draft to add to their quarterback depth. Instead, Pittsburgh signed John Rhys Plumlee as an undrafted free agent.
Plumlee, the former Central Florida and Ole Miss star, shared on X his good career news. He wrote “Extremely fired up to be part of Steeler Nation. Here we go.” The “here we go” comment seems to be a nod to new Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson.
The Steelers have totally redone the quarterback depth chart. They signed Wilson, then traded with the Bears for Justin Fields. Plus, the team signed veteran Kyle Allen as a free agent.
Meanwhile, no quarterback is remaining from last season. Starter Kenny Pickett asked to be traded. He’s with the Eagles now. Mason Rudolph signed with the Titans and Mitch Trubisky now is Josh Allen’s backup.
Plumlee started his college career at Ole Miss, where he played both baseball and football. He transferred to UCF for his final two seasons.
New Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is going for a certain style of quarterback. He obviously likes mobility. Plumlee rushed for 1,023 yards his freshman season spent at Ole Miss. While in Oxford, he also saw the field as a receiver and in other special offensive packages. Matt Corral ended up as the starter, so Plumlee swapped schools, moving to Orlando, Fla.
The Steelers also announced four other signings.
Beanie Bishop, CB, West Virginia
Daijun Edwards, RB, Georgia
Julius Welschof, linebacker, Charlotte
Jacoby Windmon, linebacker, Michigan State
Although Plumlee can play more than one position, Pittsburgh announced him as a quarterback. In his career, he completed 464 of 760 passes for 5,838 yards and 34 touchdowns. Last season, he was 161 of 256 for 2,271 yards and 15 TDs.
NFL.com ranked Plumlee as the 12th best quarterback available among the undrafted rookies-to-be. Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed topped the list.
Lance Zierlein, a draft analyst for NFL.com, likened Plumlee to Taysom Hill of the Saints. Zierlein wrote:
“Plumlee’s passing tape probably won’t be enough to get evaluators excited, but an outside-the-box evaluation creates more intrigue. … He shines on designed runs and scrambles, where his speed and competitiveness allow him to score touchdowns and move the chains. Teams could choose to use him as a QB3 with gadget potential on short-yardage and red-zone snaps, but learning to run routes could expand his NFL versatility and allow creative play-callers to find a role for him.”
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