Broncos to give QB Allen his first start
Winless Cincinnati opts to bench Dalton for rookie QB
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It took Brandon Allen four seasons and three teams to get his shot at starting in the NFL.
The gig may only be temporary, even if Joe Flacco is out for a while with a herniated disc in his neck.
Rookie quarterback Drew Lock could return to the active roster any time now that he’s missed half the season after going on injured reserve with a right thumb injury suffered in the preseason.
Allen’s not looking over his shoulder but straight ahead to Sunday and his debut when the Denver Broncos (2-6) host Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns (2-5).
“This is the opportunity that everybody wants, everybody strives for,” Allen said Tuesday. “I’m going out to do the best I can .”
Flacco, who was sacked 11 times in his last two games, had a stiff neck after Denver’s 15-13 loss at Indianapolis on Sunday. The herniated disc could sideline him for a significant stretch and land him on injured reserve.
“We’re feeling for Joe right now, but this is the opportunity you work for,” said Allen, who was claimed off waivers from the Rams on Sept. 1. “I’ve learned a lot from him in the few short weeks we’ve been together.”
Allen, a sixth-round pick of Jacksonville in 2016, spent ’17 and ’18 with the Rams.
This is what the University of Arkansas product wants everyone to know about him: “They’re going to see me play hard. They’re going to see I want to win and that’s kind of the biggest thing I want them to take away.”
Allen will be the Broncos’ sixth starting quarterback since Peyton Manning retired. It will be Allen’s first start since guiding Arkansas past Kansas State 45-23 in the Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016.
BENGALS: With no wins at the season’s midpoint, the Bengals figured it was time to end Andy Dalton’s tenure and see if rookie Ryan Finley is their QB of the future.
Coach Zac Taylor decided Tuesday to bench Dalton, ending his nine-season run as a starter. The move came two days after a 24-10 loss to the Rams in London left Cincinnati 0-8 for the first time in 11 years .
The first-year coach decided to use the bye week to get Finley — a fourth-round pick from North Carolina State — ready to face Baltimore on Nov. 10 at Paul Brown Stadium. It’s less a referendum on Dalton than an indication that the franchise is looking long term now that the season has slipped away.
PATRIOTS: New England has released kicker Mike Nugent and tight end Eric Tomlinson.
A person familiar with the deal says the Patriots have signed veteran kicker Nick Folk to replace Nugent.
Folk played three seasons with Dallas, seven with the New York Jets and kicked in four games with Tampa Bay in 2017, his last stop in the NFL before joining the Patriots.
For Nugent it ends a rough, four-game stretch for the 37-year-old veteran who was signed after longtime kicker Stephen Gostkowski went on injured reserve on Oct. 3. Nugent was just 5 of 8 on field-goal attempts and also missed an extra point.
DOLPHINS: Miami’s shutdown cornerback has been shut down.
Miami decided Tuesday to place Xavien Howard on injured reserve with a knee injury that bothered him in recent weeks, a big blow for a team that has lost its first seven games.
It’s undetermined whether Howard will require surgery, coach Brian Flores said.
The Dolphins also released tight end Nick O’Leary, who dropped a pass that was intercepted in Monday’s 27-14 loss at Pittsburgh in which Miami squandered a 14-0 lead.
The Dolphins also were awarded cornerback Xavier Crawford off waivers from Houston.
RANKINGS: New England received 11 of 12 first-place votes for 383 points in balloting Tuesday by media members in the latest AP Pro32 poll, with New Orleans and San Francisco tied for the second. Dallas, leader in the NFC East, is in a tie for 12th.
VIKINGS: Minnesota safety Jayron Kearse was charged Tuesday with multiple gun and alcohol counts after authorities say he was driving impaired while a loaded handgun containing more than two dozen rounds was on the floor of his car.
Prosecutors charged him with five counts, including a gross misdemeanor charge of carrying a gun without a permit. The other four counts were misdemeanors, including two drunken driving counts.