Josh Nathanial Allen (born December 30, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

and attended

Cedar Hill High School Cedar Hill High School (CHHS) is a comprehensive public high school located in the city of Cedar Hill, Texas (USA) in Dallas County and is classified as a 6A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Cedar Hill Independent School District located i ...

Cedar Hill, Texas Cedar Hill is a city in Dallas and Ellis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located approximately southwest of downtown Dallas and is situated along the eastern shore of Joe Pool Lake and Cedar Hill State Park. Per the 2020 United States ...

. He has been a member of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

, and

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

Early years

Allen played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the

Longhorns. He earned first-team all-district honors in 2009 and was selected to play in the Team USA vs. World All-Star Game. He helped lead the Longhorns to the 2008 and 2009 district championships. Allen played tackle and center his senior year. He also

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in powerlifting and track & field.

College career

Allen played for the

Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks The Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks (ULM Warhawks) are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). ULM currently fields 15 varsity teams (six men's and nine women's) in 11 sports, and competes at the ...

from 2010 to 2013.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Allen signed with the

on May 12, 2014, after going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was released by the Buccaneers on August 31, 2014.

Green Bay Packers

Allen was signed to the

' practice squad on September 3, 2014. He was released by the Packers on September 23, 2014.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)

Allen was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad on September 25, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2014. He made his NFL debut on December 14, 2014, against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. Allen was cut by the Buccaneers on September 1, 2015. On September 2, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve. On September 9, 2015, he was waived from injured reserve. On November 18, 2015, Allen was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad. On January 5, 2016, Allen signed a reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers. On September 3, 2016, Allen was released by the Buccaneers as part of final roster cuts. The next day, he was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 22, 2016. He was released on December 10, 2016.

San Francisco 49ers

Allen was claimed off waivers by the 49ers on December 12, 2016. He was released on December 21, 2016.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (third stint)

On December 27, 2016, Allen was re-signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers on January 2, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Calgary Stampeders

Allen was signed to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

' practice roster in October 2017.

Arizona Cardinals

On January 2, 2018, Allen signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Arizona Hotshots

In 2019, Allen joined the

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Dallas Renegades

Allen was drafted in the 6th round in phase two in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

by the

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

References

External links

Think NFL life's fair? Josh Allen says 'hello'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Josh Living people 1991 births American football centers Canadian football offensive linemen African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Players of American football from Dallas Players of Canadian football from Dallas Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Green Bay Packers players San Francisco 49ers players Calgary Stampeders players Arizona Cardinals players Arizona Hotshots players Dallas Renegades players 21st-century African-American sportspeople