Brandon Allen has earned the right to be Joe Burrow’s backup

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports If there’s one player who wanted a 17th game in 2020, it was Bengals’ backup quarterback Brandon Allen.

After being a journeyman for four seasons, the former sixth-round pick solidified his role on a team for the first time late in 2020 and is now the clear backup to quarterback Joe Burrow heading into training camp.

From Jacksonville to Los Angeles to Denver to Cincinnati, Allen has been on the fringes of NFL rosters his entire career. He did start three games for the Denver Broncos in 2019, but that was only after injuries to Drew Lock and Joe Flacco.

Last year, Allen began on the practice squad, taking his reps with the players on the back end of the roster.…