Marrone said the same questions will be asked about Allen as any young reserve player.

"You look to say, 'Hey, is this someone we want to spend time with?''' Marrone said. "'Do you think this is someone who potentially at the end of the day can be a starting quarterback for you?' Those are all of the things I ask myself, and I ask myself that at every position.''

Allen was asked about the idea that he had been better in games than practice.

"I think so," he said. "As far as me looking at all performances, there are a lot of things in practice I'd like to do better. I think in games, things slow down a little. You're going against somebody who hasn't seen the same play over and over. It's a fair assessment and obviously I need to do better in practice."

Allen has played in six of seven preseason games since joining the Jaguars and made the roster as the third quarterback as a rookie last season. He completed 27 of 48 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions last preseason but has yet to play in a regular-season game.

There was speculation during last week's Bortles-Henne quarterback competition about Allen's candidacy, but he has been the third-team quarterback since arriving. Marrone said early in training camp that Henne was clearly the No. 2 quarterback at the time.

He has played in all three preseason games this season, completing 16 of 27 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in a Week 2 loss at Tampa Bay.

"I'm a lot more confident in what's going on the field," Allen said. "Last year my heads was spinning a little bit, and this year things have slowed down a little bit for me. I think just the confidence in plays we're running, and what's going on the field – I think that's where I've made my biggest jump.

"It's been a lot of fun. It's been a big learning thing for me. I'm excited about some of the things that went on, but as a quarterback you obviously reflect on the things you could have done better.