When the Denver Broncos signed two running backs on Wednesday, the team had to make two corresponding moves to make room for the new RBs on the 90-man offseason roster.
One of the moves the team made was placing outside linebacker Christopher Allen (foot) on injured reserve. Because he was placed on IR before the initial 53-man roster was set, Allen will not be eligible to return to the active roster this year. His rookie season is over before it started.
Allen was a promising pass-rush prospect at Alabama, with NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein even projecting him as a fourth-round pick in the draft. Two injuries derailed his draft stock, though, and Allen ended up going undrafted in April and later signed with Denver as a college free agent.
Allen is still recovering from a broken foot that he suffered as a senior. Shutting him down for the entire 2022 season will (ideally) allow Allen to fully recover and return to the team ready to compete in 2023.
In the meantime, the Broncos still have a very crowded outside linebacker room headlined by Randy Gregory, Bradley Chubb, Nik Bonitto, Baron Browning and Malik Reed. Denver also has a promising young rotational rusher in Jonathon Cooper and special teams ace Aaron Patrick.
Allen missing the entire season is an unfortunate development, but it will make the Broncos’ decisions at OLB a little easier when roster cuts begin next week.
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