Cincinnati Bengals Name Brandon Allen As Starting Quarterback

Brandon Allen will be the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Allen will make his fourth career start against the New York Giants on Sunday. Allen had previously started for the Denver Broncos last season in three games.

Allen would be taking over as the starting quarterback after rookie Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending injury in their previous game against Washington. Burrow was drafted first by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft and was their starting quarterback from the start of the season.

Allen was a sixth-round pick in 2016 and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bengals signed Allen during their training camp as a contingency option because of COVID-19. He has since made it to the practice squad where he has been in the season.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said, “Whether he’s on the active roster or the practice squad doesn’t really matter. He’s still in the room doing that kind of stuff.”

Both Taylor and Allen have a history together as they were both parts of the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and 2018. Taylor was an assistant coach while Allen was a backup for the Rams.

Since then, Allen has experience in the system used by Taylor which was a factor in the decision to name him as the starter over backup Ryan Finley. Finley was considered, but his performance against Washington was poor. He went three of 10 in passes and threw for just 30 yards.