Previously Joe Burrow‘s backup in Cincinnati, Brandon Allen could soon see the cards fall in his favor in San Francisco. Not joining the 49ers until May, their current third-string quarterback looks to have an opportunity to move up the depth chart fairly soon.
Sam Darnold resides as Brock Purdy‘s unquestioned backup, but after injuries changed a slew of teams’ QB plans this season, it would not surprise to see the NFL collectively place a greater emphasis on the backup role in free agency. Darnold would stand to benefit, being one of the league’s top backups. While Darnold said he chose the 49ers in large part because of Kyle Shanahan and the team’s weaponry, the former No. 3 overall pick may well become too expensive for the team to retain.
Enter Allen, whom The Athletic’s Matt Barrows notes the team views as a “strong candidate” to be Purdy’s backup next season (subscription required). The 49ers made it a priority to acquire Allen after the draft, despite employing Trey Lance at the time. Allen is tied to a veteran-minimum deal (one year, $1.23MM) for his experience level. The journeyman backup will carry a much lower price tag compared to Darnold, who will be in position to command more than the one-year, $4.5MM deal he signed in March.
Allen, 31, is a ninth-year veteran who has taken snaps in just four of those seasons. A 2015 Jaguars sixth-round pick, the Arkansas alum spent time with the Rams and Broncos prior to a three-year run as Burrow’s Bengals backup. Allen’s most notable work came during the 2019 and ’20 seasons, when he made eight combined starts in place of injured starters (Joe Flacco and Burrow). Allen does not bring an impressive statistical resume, holding a career 6.1-yard average per attempt and a 56.7% completion rate. He is 2-7 as a starter. But the 6-foot-2 passer, who stepped into the QB3 role in earnest after the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys, will have a year of experience in Shanahan’s offense.
Considering the issues the 49ers have experienced at quarterback under Shanahan, it would surprise if the team did not explore a higher-end backup in the event Darnold leaves for either a bridge-QB job or joins a team with a less solidified starter. San Francisco, however, has seen Purdy recover from his UCL tear and become a Pro Bowl invitee. The experience gap between Darnold and Allen is certainly notable, and even with Nick Bosa on a defender-record extension and Brandon Aiyuk an extension candidate, it would surprise if the 49ers did not explore the backup market again. But Allen looks to be a clear QB2 option for 2024.
How ironic would it be if the Jets signed Sam Darnold as Aaron Rodgers backup next year?
It probably would have been a helpful move this year, had Rodgers’ injury been forecasted. The former Jets employment is already ironic, without the personal connection of Wilson also having replaced Darnold as a disappointing former top three pick for that team.
For his part, Darnold can be a capable short term starter on a team with good support. If the Jets manage to get another reliable receiver, and strengthen that offensive line, they could give Darnold a better stage than they did the first time around. There’s still plenty of work to be done there, as we all know. They’ll need to do it if they want to capitalize at all on the Rodgers move.
Makes sense.