Kyle Allen Presser: “I just want to get hit again...I’m going to play Friday”

Back from his aggravated ankle injury, Kyle Allen spoke with the press today about how “awesome” it was to be back on the training field. He explained how preseason is about going through the motions, executing, and taking hits. After declaring that he’d be ready for Friday’s game against the Bengals, he expressed his excitement to get back to football.

Allen made clear his satisfaction with the receivers’ room - “We have a lot of speed now.” He also spoke about his time in Carolina with Curtis Samuel, and how much he enjoyed playing with him. Allen spoke about Samuel’s ability to create separation on his routes and to get yards after initially catching the ball. He mentioned Adam Humphries’ speed and his short area ability. The rookie Dyami Brown and Terry McLaurin also received plaudits.

Asked about Scott Turner’s offense, Allen said “Scott tries to get players the ball in the best way possible,” and seemed to think that Turner’s offense would be more explosive this year. Of Ryan Fitzpatrick, he said the vet QB brings a good perspective, and that over the summer, Fitz was trying to figure out how to push the offense.

Of the first team defense, Allen said that William Jackson and Bobby McCain are helping the secondary, and that Cole Holcomb seems more comfortable in the system. “The defense as a whole is crisp, and not making many mental mistakes.”

Asked about Antonio Gibson, Allen drew a parallel to Christian McCaffrey, whom he played with during his time with the Panthers. “We try to use Gibson like McCaffrey. We try to get him the ball in the pass game, we try to run him a ton, and we’ll motion him out and use him in different spaces. Him and JD (McKissic) too. I’m not trying to compare him to McCaffrey, but that’s the way we’re trying to go with it. I think he has the potential.”