Training camp is five weeks away. The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie class is about to put on the pads, prepare for their first preseason game, and the evaluation of the group will earnestly begin. The large 10-man draft class is ready to go. Almost, anyway. Quarterback Drew Allar still hasn’t signed his rookie contract, making him the last member of the team and one of just a handful in the NFL to be unsigned.
As Dave and I discussed on Friday’s The Terrible Podcast, Allar is one of just 14 NFL rookies who haven’t inked a deal. Nearly one-third of the list is made up of quarterbacks. Both first-rounders, Las Vegas’ Fernando Mendoza and Los Angeles’ Ty Simpson, haven’t agreed to deals. Nor has the Arizona Cardinals second-round pick Carson Beck.
Here’s the group:
What’s the holdup? Allar and his camp are likely waiting out Beck getting his deal done – as are the draft picks immediately behind him. To shape how much, if any, guaranteed money the player will get as the bar continues shifting deeper into the draft class each year. It’s why Germie Bernard’s deal is probably fully guaranteed.
Allar was taken 11 picks after Beck and in the third round, but there’s always the chance Beck gets a fully guaranteed deal that may give Allar’s camp a little more leverage. At least, there’s no harm in waiting and letting the situation play out just to make sure.
The group behind Allar comes with separate caveats. McCoy’s and Proctor’s deals are complicated by health. A first-round talent, McCoy fell to the top of Day Three due to long-term concerns over the health of his knee. Proctor tore his meniscus in spring work and could miss all of his rookie season. There might be more haggling over the fine details of his rookie contract, like his split salary that would kick in when Proctor lands on injured reserve.
On the surface, it might feel unnerving that Allar hasn’t signed his contract. The only deadline is to have it done before July 28th, when the team reports to camp, and there’s every reason to believe it’ll be done before then. The Cardinals report to camp on July 22nd. Assuming Beck’s deal is done by then, it’ll create a domino effect for the group behind to slot in.
Once the first camp practice begins, expect Allar to be on the field with his contract signed and sealed.
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