ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- When the Denver Broncos claimed Brandon Allen off waivers earlier this season, the 27-year-old quarterback joked his future was "what happens this afternoon."
Understandable for a guy who was been cut three times, spent a season on a practice squad and waited 42 months from the time the Jacksonville Jaguars made him a sixth-round pick in 2016 to his first career start for the Broncos two Sundays ago against the Cleveland Browns.
Allen's fate may depend on the next five games, a stretch that includes four road tests and three teams currently in the league's top 10 in scoring defense.