Two-time Olympian Devon Allen is expected to play in his first NFL regular-season game on Monday night after the Philadelphia Eagles elevated him from their practice squad to the gameday roster.
The Eagles also elevated punter Braden Mann in time for their Week 3 game against the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Instead of pursuing the NFL right out of college, Allen stuck with track and field. In his event of choice, the 110-meter hurdles, Allen is a three-time national champion and represented the U.S. in the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
Allen, 28, signed with the Eagles in 2022, six years after the end of his college football career at Oregon. He spent all of last season on the practice squad.
This summer, Allen sustained a calf injury while competing at the USA Track & Field championships in July in Eugene, Ore. He missed much of training camp while on the non-football injury as a result.
Allen is listed as a wide receiver on Philadelphia’s roster online and could be an option to return kickoffs. During a preseason game last month, he returned a kickoff 73 yards. Running back Boston Scott (concussion), the Eagles’ No. 1 kick returner, is unavailable.
The Eagles signed Mann to their practice squad and released punter Arryn Siposs last Monday. Siposs handled punting duties for the Eagles’ first two games. Mann was the New York Jets’ punter from 2020-22.
–Field Level Media