Steelers make Wilson-Fields QB competition even more complicated with latest move

The Pittsburgh Steelers apparently enjoy making things complicated. This offseason serves as evidence of that, particularly when it comes to the quarterback position.

On some level, the Steelers are keeping their options open by acquiring both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields this offseason. And despite the sentiment initially being that the former Broncos flame-out, Wilson, would be QB1, it does appear that we have an outright competition forming for training camp between the Super Bowl champion and former Bears first-round pick.

So naturally, the Steelers are now adding another quarterback to the mix to further complicate and convolute the matter.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers are signing veteran Kyle Allen to "backup" Wilson and Fields.

Steelers sign Kyle Allen, further convoluting QB battle

To be clear, it doesn't seem like Allen is a viable contender to start at quarterback in Pittsburgh come Week 1. And that's the right call considering that Allen has 30 career games played (including 19 starts) over six seasons, which has resulted in a 7-12 record as a starter and a 26/21 QB/INT ratio for his career. He's a backup, and the Steelers could obviously need that.

Having said that, the optics of the entire situation make the Allen addition a bit befuddling. Sure, he could be a high-end backup no matter who is the starter and getting him into the system earlier in the offseason to better pick things up should he be called upon at any point in the season.

But this was already going to be an extremely high-profile camp battle between Wilson and Fields given the pedigree of both competitors, and now there's someone else in the mix. There is also a potential implication that one of Wilson or Fields could possibly be on the move again with Allen being the backup depending on how the QB competition plays out.

There's definitely a world where signing Allen is ultimately inconsequential. But given that this is now the fourth quarterback move that the Steelers have made this offseason when including the Kenny Pickett trade, it just adds to the mess that they've ultimately created for themselves and furthers the spotlight on a quarterback room where the franchise as much as anyone is searching for answers.