Kyle Allen probably didn’t expect to be Carolina’s starting quarterback. But that’s exactly where he finds himself for the second week in a row, and he led the Panthers to a huge 16-10 victory on the road over the Houston Texans. Cam Newton suffered a foot injury in the preseason that he re-aggravated during Week 2 against the Buccaneers, leaving Allen in control of the offense for at least another week.
What you need to know about Kyle Allen, the Panthers’ quarterback for now
Allen is a former five-star recruit who’s had to come a long way to get to backing up Cam Newton.
During his first start against the Arizona Cardinals, Allen went 19-of-26 passing for 261 yards and a whopping four touchdowns while leading his team to their first win of the season. One of his most impressive highlights came when he avoided pressure and completed this back-shoulder touchdown throw:
Even after his big performance in that game, Allen still might not be a familiar name to NFL fans. But he has a unique backstory that makes his journey to starting quarterback pretty cool.
Allen, a former five-star prospect, crossed paths with NFL starting QBs before making it to the league.
Allen, out of Scottsdale, Arizona, was the No. 1 pro-style prospect from the 2014 class. Despite holding offers from blue bloods like Alabama, Ohio State, and Notre Dame, he committed to Texas A&M, where Kevin Sumlin was the head coach at the time.
Allen and current Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson were in the same recruiting class together. Watson was the No. 1 dual-threat QB prospect from their class, and they were both in the Elite 11 QB class.
During Allen’s true freshman season in 2014, he started the Aggies’ final five games of the season, replacing Kenny Hill. As a starter, he threw for 1,058 yards, 13 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He won the Liberty Bowl MVP Award with his performance against WVU at the end of the season, too.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
In 2015, Allen earned the starting job at the beginning of the season, but ended up splitting time with fellow Aggie Kyler Murray (who yes, later transferred to Oklahoma). Murray, a true freshman at the time, started two games before Allen took back the job late in the season. Both QBs ended up transferring out of College Station, with Allen moving on to Houston.
Allen’s tenure in Houston went less than ideally, and his draft stock wasn’t very high as a result.
He sat out in 2016 due to NCAA transfer rules, and played in just five games for the Cougars, throwing four touchdowns and four interceptions before getting benched for backup Kyle Postma in 2017. With three years of playing under his belt, Allen opted to declare for the 2018 NFL Draft.
His decision to come out early came as a bit of a surprise, but D’Eriq King was already on Houston’s roster as a sophomore that same year, so Allen likely wouldn’t have gotten much playing time if he stuck around. Rather than take the grad transfer route, Allen decided to forgo his remaining eligibility, despite his college career never matching the hype he had as a recruit.
Here was Underdog Dynasty on what his strengths were as a prospect:
There’s a reason why he was a top recruit coming out of high school: his arm. Allen possesses a strong arm and is capable of making any throw. He made a number of throws that were put where only his receiver could get it, including many deep shots placed perfectly. His arm strength also allows him to make off balance throws when pressure is in his face. When he’s given the time to make a play downfield, he can make accurate throws at any level. Even when pressured, he still showed the ability to make tough throws and not panic.
Allen doesn’t get too antsy in the pocket, and his body seems calm when scanning the field. There isn’t a ton of wasted movement in his throwing motion. He does a good job of squaring his shoulders when rolling out, but also isn’t afraid to tuck and run. He doesn’t have blazing speed, but has enough to gain yards when in trouble.
Allen didn’t earn an invite to the NFL Combine and with three sparingly played years experience, going undrafted seemed like the most likely outcome for him. As expected, Allen didn’t hear his named called in the draft, but he signed with Carolina as a free agent in May 2018.
His time with the Panthers has had its ups and downs.
Allen was released and then re-signed by the Panthers (mostly on the practice squad) five times before being brought up to the active roster in December while Newton dealt with a shoulder injury. He got his first start in the final game of the season after Newton’s backup, Taylor Heinicke, got hurt the week prior.
“I think as an undrafted quarterback in this league, you got to keep betting on yourself because no one else is going to,” Allen said of his journey. “For me, it was just about betting on myself, coming in, playing as consistently as possible every single day. Practice, games, preseason, whatever it was.”
He made his starting debut during Carolina’s Week 17 win over New Orleans in 2018. Although the Saints were resting their starters before the playoffs, Allen played well and threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns.
Allen wasn’t guaranteed a roster spot heading into the offseason, though. He had to beat out third-round draft pick Will Grier, who the Panthers selected in April. Grier had a much more successful college career than Allen while at West Virginia, but Allen had a leg up in terms of NFL experience.
“This year, it’s more like, I’ve been preparing for this,” Allen said of stepping into his role via the Charlotte Observer. “This is my job. I’m a No. 2 quarterback. If I have to go in and play, this is literally what I get paid for.
Allen started the preseason as the No. 2 QB, and he managed to hang on to the job.
Just how far Allen has to take Carolina depends on just how long Newton remains injured.
There’s no timetable for Newton’s return. Newton himself said it could be one week or six weeks, but what matters most is getting 100 percent healthy. He is expected to miss Week 5 as well. SB Nation’s Geoff Schwartz believes there could potentially be a QB controversy if Allen keeps performing the way he did, but still thinks it’s unlikely:
While Allen has now started and won two games in his career (including Week 17 last season) and has thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions, I’m going to hold off on the hype train for him. He’s only played a half-effort Saints team last year and one of the worst teams in the NFL this year.
However, if Allen keeps this up, there will be a quarterback issue in Carolina. Do the Panthers go back to Newton or stick with the youngster? I think Newton will get the job back whenever he’s ready to return, which won’t be in Week 4.
Allen showed good ball placement on some key throws against the Cardinals. On the other hand, Panthers blog Cat Scratch Reader points out that Arizona’s defense is pretty terrible, so his big performance should be taken with a slight grain of salt.
In Week 4 against the Texans, Allen went 24-of-34 passing for 232 yards, and was able to impressively evade this sack from J.J. Watt:
It’s not impossible for Allen to overtake Newton, especially since his contract is up after the 2020 season (and the Panthers would only be on the hook for $2 million if they cut him after this season). But that would take a lot more of Allen getting hotter and Newton struggling significantly.
Newton is supporting Allen in the meantime:
“I’m going to be of assistance to everybody, especially for Kyle, and give everything I know about this game to them,” Newton said in a YouTube video.
For now, it’s Allen’s team until Newton can return, and he can help his cause with another good game in Week 4. Allen was back in Houston going up against Watson a week after going up against other former teammates, Murray and Christian Kirk, last week.
Watson and Allen are still friendly with one another, even today, and it should be a treat to see them together
“I actually was throwing with him this summer in Los Angeles,” Allen said via the Panthers.
“Honestly, I look up to him as a quarterback,” Allen said of Watson. “I think he’s got it really figured out.”
Unlike Watson, Allen may have been thrown into the fire unexpectedly, but he’s had confidence since he was younger:
We’ll see how far that confidence can take him this season.
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