Allgeier heads to another committee situation, but he won't be backing up a star like Bijan Robinson.
Josh WeinfussMar 28, 2026, 06:45 AM ET
- Josh Weinfuss is a staff writer who covers the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL at ESPN. Josh has covered the Cardinals since 2012, joining ESPN in 2013. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a graduate of Indiana University.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- As his nerves continued to get wracked in the lead-up to NFL free agency, with the unknown of where he would play in 2026 looming, Tyler Allgeier found solace in the fact he could choose his next team, unlike getting drafted by the Atlanta Falcons four years ago.
That meant Allgeier could find the right team and the right fit.
When he signed a two-year deal worth $12.25 million with the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month, that's exactly what he did.
In the Cardinals, Allgeier found a team that suits him well. He flourished in the outside zone rushing attack with the Falcons and in college at BYU, which will allow him to seamlessly transition into new Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur's outside zone scheme in Arizona.
"I think it's a really great fit," Allgeier said. "Great fit, great organization."
Allgeier's agent was in contact with the Cardinals as soon as the legal negotiating period opened two days before free agency officially began on March 11. Arizona showed a lot of interest in him, Allgeier said.
Even though Allgeier said the Cardinals had not discussed his role, he'll join a crowded running back room headlined by James Conner, who is coming off a foot injury that ended his season in Week 3, and Trey Benson, who suffered a knee injury in Week 4 and missed the rest of the year. Arizona also re-signed Bam Knight this offseason.
How the reps will be divided is still yet to be seen, but Allgeier has experience being both the primary ball carrier, as well as a backup.
After rushing for 1,035 yards as a rookie in 2022 in Atlanta, Allgeier was relegated to backing up Bijan Robinson, who the Falcons drafted the next year. More than half of Allgeier's 466 carries since Robinson came into the league were on first down, which has been Conner's primary down. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, 58% of Conner's carries were on first down.
Allgeier said he learned how to feed off Robinson but not try to overdo it after backing him up for the past three seasons.
After Robinson would make a big play, Allgeier had to stay in control.
"Not going crazy to where you're doing crazy stuff, like going crazy, like you're out of the technique and stuff, but I think just playing your ball, don't chase for the big play," Allgeier said. "The big play's going to happen. Just being able to ... just keep going forward, four-and-a-half yards a carry, and then just keep moving the chains. I think that was the big thing.
"So, being able to complement each other and just keep moving the chains and just end of the day, getting the win."
Being part of what's expected to be a running back by committee to a certain degree will give Allgeier an opportunity to continue that approach in Arizona.
Allgeier described his running style as "pretty tough" and "pretty physical," and said he takes pride in not getting tackled by just one defender.
"I think falling forward, getting those YAC yards, being able to do that," he said. "I take a lot of pride in that. Just not being ... If it's a one-on-one, just make sure we're going forward, not getting [stalemated]. Whether if there's a D-lineman who breaks through and he's free, just being able to get back at the line of scrimmage at least instead of taking negative. I think that's the biggest one."
Another one is his ability to hold onto the ball.
Allgeier has not fumbled a carry in his career, a total of 676 carriers since 2022. He's one of eight backs with at least 250 carries since then to not put the ball on the ground. And during that stretch, only one back, free agent running back Joe Mixon, has more carries without a fumble.
But Allgeier doesn't like to talk about it. It's a topic for everyone else to discuss.
"Ball security [is] job security is what my coach says. So being able to hold the ball high and tight, the ball is the lifeline ... just the fate of the organization. So being able to just keep it off the ground, whether it's a pass or obviously when we're running the ball, just keeping it off the ground as much as we can.
"Obviously, things are going to happen. It could be a bad bounce or a helmet, but just doing what we can to not let that happen. So I think that's the most important thing. That's just not for running backs. That's for everyone who carries the ball."