Steelers Now
The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to terms on a rookie contract with third-round quarterback Carson Beck, according to a report on Wednesday by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, leaving Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Drew Allar as the final remaining unsigned third-round pick from this year’s draft
Beck and Allar were the third and fourth quarterbacks selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, behind No. 1 overall selection Fernando Mendoza of the Las Vegas Raiders and No. 13 pick Ty Simpson of the Los Angeles Rams.
None of the top four quarterbacks had signed their rookie contracts with one week until most teams report — four of just six unsigned rookie, along with Raiders fourth-round cornerback Jermod McCoy and New England Patriots second-round defensive end Gabe Jacas. Both Jacas and McCoy have been dealing with injury issues.
The quarterbacks, on the other hand, have been waiting on compensation-related issues. While NFL rookie contracts are strictly slotted in terms of value by the NFL-NFLPA CBA, the amount of contract guarantee, and the payment schedule of signing bonuses have been frequent holdups between players and teams in recent years.
That has mostly come up with second-round picks, as the cut-off line for where a players’ deal has been fully guaranteed has slowly progressed through the first and second round. Initially, when the pay scale was introduced in 2011, about 20 players typically received fully guaranteed deals. Last year, it was 40. This year, 48 have so far. The details of Beck’s deal have not yet been reported.
Why getting rookie deals has been a particular issue with the quarterbacks in this year’s class is not immediately clear, but it is likely tied to one of those two issues, multiple NFL agents not representing one of those players told Steelers Now.
Rookie holdouts are extremely rare since the implementation of the new rookie pay scale, and it should be expected that Allar and the Steelers will reach a deal before the first practice of training camp next Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Carson Beck Signs, Is Steelers QB Drew Allar Next?
