Steelers, Drew Allar Playing Contract Chicken

PITTSBURGH — The reason Drew Allar has yet to sign his rookie deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers might have been solved, but it hasn’t resolved the situation.

It appears that the Steelers won’t be signing their recent third round pick to his rookie deal until the Arizona Cardinals sign theirs. Carson Beck, the first pick of the third round by the Cardinals, is also unsigned as training camps approach. As the first choice of that round, Beck is the tone and price setter for the round, and it appears that there is a game of chicken underway between all parties involved.

Meanwhile, the Steelers get a bit of relief and help as they wait for things to come together with Allar.

How This Helps Steelers

It would make sense for Allar to wait until Beck signs, see what kind of money he gets and what percentage is guaranteed, before signing your own deal.

But for the Steelers, it is a lot more curious. Wouldn’t they want their new, shiny toy under contract?

Well, maybe it's not that simple. The reason why is because the organization already has a young quarterback on the roster that is still learning the game and hungry for experience. Will Howard is a year ahead of Allar and presumably ahead on the depth chart as well. With four guys on the expanded roster, Allar included, there is only room for three when the regular season rolls around.

And then, it clicks. The Steelers have no time crunch. They know that they will either have to part ways with veteran Mason Rudolph or try to sneak one of Allar or Will Howard onto their practice squad.

But that clock only starts when Allar signs his rookie deal. He could wait all summer. He could wait until Week 10 of the regular season, for the all the Steelers care. That would still leave the team with three quarterbacks they feel confident in.