Cortez Allen could be following in Keenan Lewis' footsteps

The Pittsburgh Steelers don't negotiate contracts during the season. That means time is slowly dwindling for Steelers' cornerback Cortez Allen to possibly get the contract extension he desires.

If the two sides can't agree on a deal, Allen would be playing the 2014 NFL season knowing that free agency awaits after the conclusion of the season's final game.

The same scenario happened two years ago when the Steelers allowed Keenan Lewis to enter his final year without an extension, and Lewis made himself a 5-year, $26 million contract deal with the New Orleans Saints by having his best season of his young career.

The Steelers have never fully recovered from the loss of Lewis and logical thought suggests they can't afford to lose Allen the way they lost Lewis.

The Steelers are extremely thin at the cornerback position and, in the past two draft classes, they have selected a cornerback in the fifth round, only to see them released or signed to the practice squad.

Allen has a lot to play for. Not only is he playing for a contract extension, but he could be playing for a hefty new contract with a new team. The Steelers can only hope he performs well enough to gain the attention of other teams in free agency, but whether they'll be able to out-bid those teams is what concerns fans in respect to the future of the Steelers' secondary.

Regardless of his current contract situation, Allen remains the consummate professional and tells Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he is solely focused on football.

"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."