Less than 24 hours after Steelers legend Troy Polamalu retired, Pittsburgh resigned Will Allen, who has backed up Polamalu at safety since 2010. Although Allen is only one year younger than Polamalu, the Steelers secondary was arguably playing its best football during the final four games of 2014 with Allen starting and Polamalu on the bench.
Terms of the deal were not announced, but it is likely that Allen signed for something at or very close to the veteran minimum.
Timing of Allen Signing Telling
Excited to be back in the black and gold + be a part of this great city! #steelersnation #pittsburgh… http://t.co/NwXpeqdWoz
— Will Allen 20 (@WillAllenWAF) April 10, 2015
Given their profile and level of their contributions during 2014, it was peculiar that the Steelers would decide to resign Clifton Geathers and Darrius Heyward-Bey before resigning Will Allen.
- The timing of the move tells you all you need to know.
The Steelers clearly wanted and needed veteran depth behind Mike Mitchell, Shamarko Thomas, and Robert Golden. And while Steelers management – from Art Rooney II down through new defensive coordinator Keith Butler had signaled that Troy Polamalu was not in their 2015 plans – they had not completely closed the door on a Polamalu return in 2015.
- They also had adopted an either/or mentality towards Polamlau and Allen.
The Steelers will also likely seek a safety at some point in the 2015 NFL Draft and there’s no certainty that Allen will get a roster spot. But for now he provides a veteran presence in a safety corps that has just gong from one of the most-experienced positions on the depth chart to one of the least in only two years.
Thanks for visiting. Click here for more of our Steelers 2015 Free Agent Focus.
