Quarterback Jim Kelly’s agent said he won’t...

Quarterback Jim Kelly’s agent said he won’t wait for the Buffalo Bills to call if the United States Football League releases its players from their contracts later this week.

Ken Weinberger said in that case, he or one of the other members of Kelly’s management group will call the Bills, who own NFL rights to Kelly, to start negotiations. Weinberger said that Kelly’s situation “will be much more focused” after a meeting Thursday between the USFL and its players’ association.

In a related development, the Pittsburgh Steelers said they won’t pay USFL teams for rights to players. Steeler President Dan Rooney predicted that the USFL would try to sell some of its players to NFL teams.

“We’re not going to buy players,” he said. “We may be interested in talking to the players and their agents, but not the teams themselves.”

The Steelers hold NFL rights to two USFL players, defensive tackle Van Hughes and quarterback Cliff Stoudt, who left Pittsburgh in 1983 for the USFL. Steeler Coach Chuck Noll said that the team would be interested in signing Hughes but not Stoudt.