With Brandon Allen Hobbled, Bengals Sign Kyle Shurmur to Practice Squad

CINCINNATI — The Bengals signed former Chiefs quarterback Kyle Shurmur to the practice squad on Thursday.

The 24-year-old signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He spent time on their practice squad and active roster, but never entered a regular season game.

Shurmur worked out for the team this week. He must've quickly passed through the NFL's COVID-19 protocol because he is practicing with the Bengals on Thursday afternoon.

Shurmur completed 722-of-1,264 (57.1%) passes for 8,865 yards, 64 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in 44 games at Vanderbilt.

The Bengals have four quarterbacks in the organization—two on the active roster and two on the practice squad.

Veteran Brandon Allen suffered a knee injury in Sunday's 30-7 loss to the Cowboys. He didn't practice on Thursday, but there's a chance he'll still be able to suit up against the Steelers on Monday night.

If he can't, then Ryan Finley will start for the Bengals and Kevin Hogan will be his backup.

Cincinnati signed Hogan to the practice squad last month following Joe Burrow's season-ending knee injury.

The COVID-19 pandemic is playing a big role in the Bengals' roster construction. They want to make sure they have three healthy quarterbacks within the organization at all times, just in case there's an outbreak.

Adding Shurmur to the practice squad gets them to that number, regardless of how Allen's knee responds to treatment.

Allen, 28, has completed 55-of-84 passes (65.5%) for 506 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in three starts this season.

The drop off from Allen to Finley appears to be steep, which makes Monday's matchup against Pittsburgh that much more challenging.

Shurmur is the son of long-time NFL coach and current Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

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