The merry-go-round that is Buffalo Bills backup quarterbacks stopped Wednesday, adding Kyle Allen. He comes to Western New York on a one-year contract. This comes after stops with the Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, and Houston Texans.
While no one ever envisions the backup quarterback needing to play except in mop-up duty, he is still only one snap away from playing at any given moment. Unfortunately, Kyle Allen has seen his share of injuries highlighted below.
College
2015 Texas A&M
AC Joint sprain, throwing shoulder, vs Alabama, finished game, played next week against Mississippi, benched the next three games.
Allen suffered an AC joint sprain while playing against Alabama that resulted in three interceptions returned for a touchdown. His play the following week against Mississippi was also subpar which led to his benching as Kyler Murray took over.
NFL
2018 Carolina Panthers
Shoulder injury, side not specified, Week 17
Allen exited the season finale after suffering a shoulder injury sometime in the game. This led to Garrett Gilbert to finish the game. Several days after the game, it was reported that there was no long term concern with the injury.
2019 Panthers
Right shoulder injury, Week 9, missed 0 games.
Appeared on the injury report with an injury to his throwing shoulder but was able to practice in full. This indicated that he was at least receiving some type of treatment to the area during that week.
2020 Washington Commanders
Left arm injury, Week 5, missed 0 games.
Allen took a monster hit from Jalen Ramsey to his left shoulder/arm as he went out of bounds as seen in the clip below. He was removed from the game out of an abundance of caution.
Left ankle fracture/dislocation, Week 9, missed 9 games.
Allen dislocated and broke his left ankle as the result of a leg whip from Giants S Jabrill Peppers during the third possession of the first quarter. He needed the cart to get off the field and later had surgery to repair the fracture and ligament damage, ending his season.
2021 Commanders
Left ankle, preseason.
He tweaked his left ankle early in training camp and missed two weeks as he recovered.
COVID/Reserve, Week 15, missed 1 game.
Allen landed on the COVID/Reserve list prior to Week 15, missing the following game.
2022 Houston Texans
COVID/Reserve, preseason, missed 1 game.
Landed back on the COVID/Reserve list midway through training camp, forcing him to miss the preseason opener.
Buffalo Bills Injury Outlook
Shoulder injuries and a dislocated/fractured ankle have made up the majority of injuries that Kyle Allen has suffered in college and the NFL. He has not missed anytime due to the shoulder injuries and would have possibly played through the ankle injury had it not been that serious.
He has primarily been a backup which is no surprise coming out of Houston as a UDFA. He does have starting experience during the 2019 season in relief of Cam Newton, stating 12 games. Other than that, he has been called upon intermittently and performed adequately.
I’m not too concerned about the shoulder injuries as he has missed minimal time and has shown the ability to play through them. If he does suffer another injury, I expect him to fight tooth and nail through it until he can’t, minimizing the need for a third quarterback on the roster.
The ankle injury was a freak accident and other than some arthritic pain later in life, this should not affect his play as it was two years ago.
Kyle Allen should not expect to see the field due to Josh Allen’s durability, but can make a fine backup in the event that he is needed. Hopefully he is just going in for mop-up duty in the fourth quarter or playing in meaningless late season games after the division and playoff seeding are solidified.
A capable backup quarterback that can help Josh Allen prepare during the week and be prepared when called upon? Can’t ask for much more.
Top Photo Credit: Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
