Cortez Allen and Steelers Agree on New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

With less than 24 hours until the first Sunday of the NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have eliminated at least one potential distraction. 

The team's official Twitter feed announced Saturday night that Pittsburgh locked up 25-year-old cornerback Cortez Allen with a five-year contract extension:

After playing sparingly in nickel and dime defenses and on special teams as a rookie, Allen has started 11 games over the past two seasons, including eight in 2013. Over that span, he had four interceptions and 23 pass deflections, per pro-football-reference.com. 

Those obviously aren't overwhelming numbers, but stats hardly ever tell the entire story for defensive backs. In reality, Allen has continually been improving since being drafted in the fourth round in 2011 and has established himself as the team's best player at a position where the Steelers are extremely thin. 

With Ike Taylor aging, Mike Tomlin and his staff weren't going to be able to afford to let Allen walk into free agency, where they may have been forced to pay more or use the franchise tag depending on how this season goes.

They didn't want to lose him like Keenan Lewis, and as the Observer-Reporter's Dale Lolley noted, this deal is slightly cheaper than that one:

Alas, they don't have to worry about any of that now, and Allen can continue to concentrate solely on football, which he was already doing in the first place, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly:

"

I am working on Cleveland right now. That’s my focus. All of that other stuff is not my concern right now. We have a game. My thought is that everything takes care of itself. I don’t think about the contract thing and anything like that.

"

For the Steelers' management, attention will now turn toward extending quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and linebacker Jason Worilds. The former's contract won't be discussed until after the season, while the latter hits free agency after this year. 

At the very least, though, the team can feel a little bit more confident about its secondary for the foreseeable future.