Washington tenders Kyle Allen as exclusive rights free agent

The Washington Football Team may not have a franchise quarterback just yet, but the franchise is bringing back a familiar signal-caller. 

The team tendered quarterback Kyle Allen as an exclusive rights free agent — keeping the 25-year-old under contract for another season. As part of the deal, Allen will earn $850,000 next season.

Allen started four games for Washington last season before suffering a fractured ankle in a loss to the New York Giants. 

Coach Ron Rivera said he expects Allen to be healthy by training camp.

Allen is the second quarterback Washington has retained this offseason. The team also re-signed Taylor Heinicke last month after he impressed in Washington’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last week, the team parted ways with veteran Alex Smith — releasing him to save roughly $15 million cap space. 

Allen and Heinicke also both were with Rivera in Carolina, with both knowing the ins and outs of offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s offense. 

Last year, Allen replaced starter Dwayne Haskins as Rivera searched for a signal-caller who could help Washington chase the NFC East. Allen went 1-3 as a starter, throwing for 610 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception. It’s not a surprise Washington retained him as Rivera has said for months that the team planned to have him return. 

Washington has been in the market for a new quarterback this offseason, holding trade talks with several teams regarding a variety of veteran signal-callers. The team offered a first-round and third-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford, though that offer was ultimately rejected as Detroit accepted a deal from the Los Angeles Rams. 

Rivera said Wednesday the team is continuing to study the market. 

“Do you want to be able to say this is our franchise quarterback?” Rivera said. “Well, yeah, you would love to. But you don’t know that until the quarterback starts playing, or quarterbacks. Once that starts happening, then you’ll know. We’ve just got to continue to go through this, study the players and get the one that we feel can become that player.

“We’ll see what happens.”