The Broncos moved on from Kevin Hogan last week and picked up ex-Rams quarterback Brandon Allen to serve as Joe Flacco’s backup in 2019. After Denver placed Drew Lock (thumb) on injured reserve, Allen was left as the only backup on the 53-man roster.
That means Allen is poised to serve as the team’s backup quarterback for at least the first eight weeks of the season. Lock can return to practice after six weeks and will be eligible to play again after eight weeks.
So why did the team pick Allen to be the new No. 2?
“We just thought he comes from a similar system so hopefully his learning curve will be short,” coach Vic Fangio said after practice Monday. “We liked his ability and thought he was a good fit for us.”
Allen had been playing in Los Angeles under Sean McVay, who has a similar offense to Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello. That should help the QB quickly learn the team’s system before Monday’s season opener against the Raiders.
“A lot of the concepts are very similar,” Allen said Monday. “Terminology-wise, I just have to learn that, which will be fine. As far as reads and things I think I’ll be able to pick that up pretty quickly because of the similarities.”
Allen had good things to say about his new offensive coordinator.
“It’s been great so far,” Allen said. “[He’s] obviously a smart guy. He’s doing his best to bring me up to speed as fast as possible, so I think I’ll be meeting with him a lot this week just getting prepared for Monday.”
Allen went 12-of-19 for 162 yards passing in a 10-6 preseason win over the Broncos last month. Denver’s front office liked what they saw.
“He’s a good athlete, throws a good ball,” Fangio said. “I like the way he runs an offense, what little I’ve seen of him. We think he’s a good fit. We’ll see.”
