Allen is part of the 49ers' quarterback derby this summer. His best chance to make the roster as the team's No. 3 quarterback is if Brock Purdy suffers a setback in his recovery from an arm injury, or if the team trades one of Trey Lance or Sam Darnold. But no matter what, Allen will barely be of interest in typical Fantasy leagues unless/until he starts for San Francisco. That seems unlikely, so keep him off rosters.
Allen (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's Week 2 game against the Rams.
The journeyman signal-caller will be relegated to the No. 3 quarterback role for the second time to open the season, as expected. Sam Darnold will continue to serve as Brock Purdy's primary backup against Los Angeles.
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49ers' Brandon Allen: Odd man out
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Allen (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Steelers.
Allen was able to make the team as the No. 3 quarterback, but he'll be wearing street clothes in Pittsburgh, while San Francisco opts to dress just Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold.
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49ers' Brandon Allen: Debuts with 49ers
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Allen completed five of eight pass attempts for 36 yards and an interception in Sunday's preseason loss to Las Vegas.
Allen was the third quarterback to enter the exhibition for San Francisco behind starter Trey Lance and Sam Darnold. With Brock Purdy (elbow) expected to be ready for Week 1, Allen is likely the odd man out come roster cuts. The veteran backup will continue to display his skills for the 49ers or potentially other suitors this preseason.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Returns to practice
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Allen (concussion) returned to practice Monday after suffering a concussion in Friday's loss to the Cardinals, Richard Skinner of WKRC-TV reports.
Allen has cleared concussion protocol, putting him on track to start again when the Bengals visit the Giants on Sunday for their second preseason game. The veteran played just one series in Friday's first preseason action before being ruled out with a concussion. The expectation was that Allen would've played the entire first half in the contest. This very well could be the case Sunday, especially with starter Joe Burrow still recovering from an offseason appendix surgery.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Concussion confirmed
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Allen was ruled out after suffering a concussion during Friday's preseason opener against Arizona.
Allen was previously seen heading to Cincinnati's locker room after being evaluated for a concussion on the sidelines, and he'll likely have to miss extended time this preseason after this injury was later confirmed Friday night. As a result, Jake Browning stepped in as the Bengals' quarterback with starter Joe Burrow still recovering from an offseason appendix surgery. During Allen's presumptive absence, Browning will likely split snaps with undrafted signal-caller Drew Plitt this preseason.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Seeing additional QB reps
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Allen received extra snaps under center during Wednesday's training camp sessions while starting quarterback Joe Burrow was sidelined due to surgery, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports.
Allen and third-stringer Jake Browning were the only two quarterbacks to see action during Cincinnati's practice Wednesday. The two should continue to log additional reps with Burrow's availability uncertain after undergoing emergency surgery to remove his appendix Tuesday. It's unknown if the starter's status for Week 1 is under duress given the uncommon nature of this procedure, but Allen should be the next in line under center in the meantime.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Scheduled for free agency
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Allen completed 17 of 34 pass attempts for 149 yards and two touchdowns across six appearances in 2021.
Allen also logged seven carries for minus-1 yards and committed one fumble. The bulk of his NFL action this season came Week 18 at Cleveland, a spot start in which Cincinnati lost 21-16 to close out the regular season. Now scheduled for free agency after the conclusion of the postseason, Allen may have to search for his next backup role elsewhere.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Added to COVID-19 list
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Cincinnati placed Allen on the reserve/COVID-19 list after he tested positive for the virus, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Allen will need to clear the NFL's COVID-19 protocols before seeing action again, and the Bengals will be left without their top backup behind starter Joe Burrow for the time being. Jake Browning will slot in as Cincinnati's No. 2 quarterback until Allen returns.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Gets garbage-time reps
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Allen played six snaps and completed one of two pass attempts for six yards Sunday in the Bengals' 41-16 loss to the Browns.
Though starter Joe Burrow has stayed healthy this season, Allen has still gotten the opportunity to play in three of the last four games, with all of his appearances coming in garbage-time scenarios. Unlike the prior two occasions, the Bengals were on the wrong side of the blowout this time around, and Allen was merely getting reps to spare Burrow further beatings after he took five sacks earlier in the contest.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Dreadful against Ravens
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Allen completed six of 21 passes for 48 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in the Bengals' Week 17 loss to the Ravens.
After putting together some valiant efforts filling in for Joe Burrow (knee), Allen fell flat in the season finale. He concluded the 2020 season having made four appearances and posting five touchdowns, three interceptions and 925 passing yards. Allen was playing the campaign on a one-year deal and will enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Given the uncertain timeline for Burrow, the Bengals could opt to re-sign Allen to an affordable short-term deal.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Listed as active Sunday
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Allen (knee) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Texans, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports.
Though coach Zac Taylor hasn't named a starting QB for the contest, Hobson indicates that "indications throughout the week have been that Allen" will get the nod after missing the team's Week 15 win over the Steelers. Also, as Hobson points out, Allen "didn't appear on Friday's game status report and remained listed as the No. 1 quarterback in front of Ryan Finley." Either way, Allen's not a high-percentage lineup option for those in the fantasy playoffs, and it doesn't help that the Bengals will be without top pass catcher Tyler Boyd (concussion) in Week 16.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Misses another practice
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Allen (knee) didn't participate in Friday's practice, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.
With his right knee injury sidelining him for the second practice in a row, Allen's chances of playing Monday against the Steelers aren't looking promising. The Bengals will see what Allen can do at practice Saturday before ruling on his status for the Week 15 matchup, but Ryan Finley will pick up his first start of the season in the event Allen is unable to go.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Dubbed day-to-day
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Coach Zac Taylor said Monday that Allen (knee) is "day-to-day," Tyler Dragon of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Taylor said that Allen suffered a right knee injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, per Dragon. It sounds like Allen has a shot to recover in time for the Bengals' upcoming Monday night matchup against Pittsburgh, but if not Ryan Finley would stand to draw the start.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Suffers leg injury
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Allen was forced out of Sunday's game against the Cowboys with a right leg injury.
Ryan Finley is expected to finish the game under center for the Bengals. Allen completed 27 of 36 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game. He also ran for 12 yards on four carries.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Practices fully Wednesday
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Allen (chest) practiced fully Wednesday, Jay Morrison of The Athletic reports.
Allen was forced out of this past Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, but the his full practice participation Wednesday puts him on track to remain in the starting lineup this weekend against the 3-9 Cowboys, who've dropped six of their last seven games. Though the matchup is a decent one for Allen, he's only a lineup option in deeper fantasy formats at this stage after averaging only 144.5 passing yards through his first two starts while throwing for two touchdowns against two interceptions.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Leaves Sunday's game
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Allen was forced out of Sunday's game against the Dolphins with a chest injury.
Prior to his exit, Allen completed 11 of 19 pass attempts for 153 yards, with one TD and a pick. He was replaced at QB by Ryan Finley.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Struggles in loss to Giants
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Allen completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception during Sunday's 19-17 loss to the Giants.
Allen averaged a measly 4.7 yards per attempt while completing just 59 percent of his passes. He threw an interception that set up a field goal in the third quarter before connecting with Tee Higgins for a one-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth. With a 2:3 TD:INT and an average of just 152.6 yards per game over his last three outings, Allen seems likely to struggle against a tough Dolphins defense next Sunday if he's given another chance to start.
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Brandon Allen: Lands on practice squad
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Allen cleared waivers and signed with the Bengals' practice squad Sunday, Tyler Dragon of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
The Broncos started Allen under center in three games last year, and the results were discouraging, as he completed just 46.4 percent of his passes for 515 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He'll stick with the Bengals' practice squad as the franchise's No. 3 quarterback behind Joe Burrow and Ryan Finley.
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Bengals' Brandon Allen: Joins Cincinnati
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Allen signed a contract with the Bengals on Saturday.
Allen, who started three games with the Broncos last season and compiled 515 passing yards while completing under 50 percent of his passes, is expected to compete with incumbent Ryan Finley for the backup QB job behind No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow.
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Broncos' Brandon Allen: Finishes 2019 on downswing
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Allen completed 39 of 84 passes for 515 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions during the 2019 season. He ran for 39 yards on 10 carries.
Allen went from surprise stud to questionable backup very, very quickly during the middle of the season. After posting an impressive 125.6 rating in a win over the Browns, that rating was cut in half to 61.9 in the following game against the Vikings and then was cut almost in half again to 32.4 in a loss to the Bills. Allen deserves at least some benefit of the doubt as the three games were his first regular-season playing experience, but he's been in the league since 2016. Assuming that Denver improves its offensive weaponry in the offseason, Allen could be a solid, inexpensive backup and potential spot-starter behind Drew Lock for the 2020 season, but it'd be a surprise if -- at the very least -- the Broncos don't give 2019 rookie Brett Rypien a shot at unseating him.
