Allen joined the Bengals early in training camp last season, then served as the team's No. 3 QB before being thrust into the starting role late in the season ... Played and started five of the final six games in 2020 (missed one due to injury), and completed 90 of 142 passes (63.4 percent) for 925 yards, five TDs and four INTs (82.0 rating) ... Began season on Cincinnati's practice squad and was team's "quarantine QB" that was kept away from the rest of the QBs at practice/meetings in case they could not play due to COVID-19 ... Thrust into starting action in Game 11, after starting QB Joe Burrow suffered season-ending injury in Game 10 ... Originally a sixth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, and later spent time with the L.A. Rams and Denver Broncos ... Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was on the Rams' offensive staff when Allen was in L.A.
Career transactions: Selected by Jacksonville in sixth round of 2016 NFL Draft (201st overall) ... Signed with Jaguars on 5-6-16 ... Waived by Jaguars on 9-3-17 ... Acquired by L.A. Rams on waivers from Jaguars on 9-4-17 ... Waived by Rams on 9-18-18 ... Signed to Rams practice squad on 9-20-18 ... Signed to Rams roster on 2-7-19 ... Waived by Rams on 8-30-19 ... Acquired by Denver on waivers from Rams on 9-1-19 ... Broncos contract expired on 3-18-20; received no qualifying offer and became free agent ... Signed with Cincinnati as free agent on 8-1-20 ... Contract terminated by Bengals on 9-5-20 ... Signed to Bengals practice squad on 9-6-20 ... Signed to Bengals roster on 11-23-20 ... Signed contract extension with Bengals on 3-10-21.
2020 highlights: Played and started five games for the Bengals (Games 11-13 and 15-16), and completed 90 of 142 passes (63.4 percent) for 925 yards, five TDs and four INTs (82.0 rating) ... Signed with Cincinnati on Aug. 1, then joined Bengals' practice squad after final cuts ... Served as Bengals' No. 3 QB for first 10 games while on practice squad, and was the team's "quarantine quarterback" that was kept away from the rest of the QBs at practice/meetings in case Cincinnati's other QBs could not play due to COVID-19 ... After Bengals' starter Joe Burrow suffered season-ending knee injury in Game 10, Nov. 22 at Washington, Allen was signed to the active roster and took over as starter for the rest of the season ... Inactive for Game 14, Dec. 21 vs. Pittsburgh due to knee injury ... Made Bengals debut on Nov. 29 vs. the N.Y. Giants, and completed 17 of 29 passes for 136 yards, one TD and one INT ... Passed for career-high 371 passing yards and two TDs (126.5 rating) in Bengals win on Dec. 27 at Houston.
Previous seasons: 2016—Spent entire rookie season on Jacksonville's active roster, and was inactive for all 16 games. 2017—Allen was inactive for the first 15 weeks of the season with the Rams before being placed on Reserve/Injured (back) on Dec. 20. 2018—Did not play ... Spent first two games on L.A. Rams' active roster (inactive for both), then moved to the practice squad for the remaining 14 contests. 2019—Played and started three games (Games 9-11) for Denver ... Active/DNP for other 13 contests ... Completed 39 of 84 passes (46.4 percent) for 515 yards, three TDs and two INTs (68.3 rating) ... Made his NFL regular-season debut on Nov. 3 vs. Cleveland, completing 12 of 20 passes (60.0 percent) for 193 yards with two TDs ... His 125.6 passer rating against the Browns was the third-highest figure in team history for a QB making his Broncos starting debut ... Completed 17 of 35 attempts for 240 yards and one TD on Nov. 17 at Minnesota.
College: Spent five seasons (2011-15) at Arkansas, with a redshirt year in '11 ... Started 38 career games, and left program ranked third in school history in passing yards (7462), second in completions (583), second in attempts (1016) and third in completion percentage (57.4) ... Started his final 34 consecutive games, the longest streak for an Arkansas QB since 1992.
Personal: Hometown is Fayetteville, Ark. ... Attended Fayetteville High School, where he led the Bulldogs to the Arkansas Class 7A state title game as a senior in 2010, finishing the season with a 10-4 record ... Honored with the Landers Award, given annually to the top high school football player in the state of Arkansas ... His brother, Austin, was a college free agent signee of Tampa Bay in 2018 ... Graduated from Arkansas in 2014 with a degree in recreation and sport management.
NOTE ABOUT NFL EXPERIENCE: Allen did not earn an accrued year of experience toward NFL free agency in 2018 because he was not on a 53-player roster, a Reserve/Injured list or a Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list for the required minimum of six games.
