Source: Kyle Allen traded to Washington after starting 12 games for Panthers in 2019
The Panthers added one quarterback and are officially moving on from another.
Kyle Allen has been traded to Washington, per a source with direct knowledge of the transaction. The Panthers will get a 2020 fifth-round pick in return (148th overall). The move came just hours after the team agreed to a deal with XFL quarterback P.J. Walker.
Once all of the moves the Panthers have done over the past week are finalized and the team officially moves on from quarterback Cam Newton, Carolina will have Teddy Bridgewater, Walker and last year’s third-round pick, Will Grier, on the roster. Bridgewater signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the team last week.
The move also gives the Panthers their eighth pick in this year’s NFL draft, where are looking to bring in a significant amount of young talent with the team rebuilding its roster. This is the first move the team has made to add more draft picks, but likely not the last.
Allen will reunite with most of the Panthers’ coaching staff from last year in Washington, including head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner. It also gives him a better opportunity to compete for a backup quarterback job and a chance to continue developing in his second full year in the league with some of the same coaches.
Carolina had signed Allen to a one-year extension earlier this offseason when he was set to become an exclusive rights free agent.
He started 12 games in 2019 after Newton was sidelined with a Lisfranc injury in his left foot. Allen won the backup job over Grier and finished the season completing 62 percent of passes for 3,322 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He was sacked 46 times, the third-most by any Panthers quarterback in a single season.
After having a hot stretch through his first four starts, with the team going undefeated, Allen faced difficulties in the second half of the year, throwing all 16 of his interceptions over the final nine games to just 10 touchdowns. Part of his late-season woes were due to the offensive line experiencing injuries at a number of positions. Grier started the final two games of the season.
Despite an up-and-down season for Allen and the Panthers, he handled all of the changes and moves throughout the season with a lot of perspective for young quarterback.
“I always see the big picture. I always do, and I’ll go back and look after the season and learn from all the mistakes,” Allen said after he was benched in favor of Grier. “Life moves on. It’s not the end of the world. I got to start 12 games this year. Obviously, I would like to have played better in those last few games, I would like to put us in a position to win more games and the whole team would like to win more games, but I always see the big picture.”
Originally ranked as the top quarterback recruit in the country coming out of high school in Arizona, Allen had an unusual college career, getting benched at Texas A&M and then at the University of Houston after he transferred. He chose to declare for the 2018 NFL draft after his junior year of eligibility.
The Panthers signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent and he spent a majority of the year on the team’s practice squad. He got the opportunity to start the final game of the 2018 season due to injuries and won the game in New Orleans, partly against the Saints’ backups.
The trade also reflects the difficulty that the team is having in moving on from Newton. Last Tuesday, the Panthers announced they and Newton’s agents were seeking a trade for the quarterback, however, finding a trade partner has not been simple for a variety of reasons, including that teams are unable to get a full picture of the quarterback’s health due to restrictions surrounding coronavirus. Washington had been linked as one possibility for Newton.
There are a limited number of destinations remaining for Newton, who is expected to be released.
The Panthers’ quarterback room will look different in 2020 with Grier appearing to be the only returner.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
