A Division II product with recent injury baggage, Roger Allen knows how fortunate he is to have another chance in front of him.

The former All-American guard at Missouri Western is briefly into his fourth NFL offseason, and Allen’s spending this one on a third team — the Carolina Panthers.

Injuries to both knees derailed stints at his first two NFC destinations — the St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints — but the 6-foot-3, 323-pound guard remained in demand following his release late last season.

The Panthers’ offer represents another opportunity to display potential the injuries delayed, and Allen is grateful for it.

“I know how hard it is. I’ve got several friends at home waiting for calls still, so I know how blessed I am,” Allen said. “It’s not wasted on me.”

Allen caught on with the Panthers in December after nearly two seasons in New Orleans.

A meniscus injury limited Allen’s training-camp work with the Saints and induced arthroscopic surgery that landed him on injured reserve. Allen spent the first months of the season relatively secluded, rehabbing his left knee in the Saints’ facilities.

Once Allen returned to full strength, New Orleans released him, and several teams — among them the 49ers, Dolphins and Rams — inquired about his services. Those teams sought the third-year guard’s services at the end of the season, but Carolina offered a practice-squad slot, and Allen returned to practice after missing more than three months of on-field development. Players on injured reserve cannot practice with their teams.

The Panthers offered Allen a reserve/futures contract, and his prospects of competing for a roster spot don’t appear as daunting as they did in New Orleans.

The Saints possessed both first-team All-Pro guards in Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans while the Panthers don’t have anyone of that caliber. Carolina started rookie free agent Byron Bell for most of last season along with perennial interior anchor Travelle Wharton.

But Allen, an undrafted free agent in 2009, will still have to work his way up against higher-priority and longer-tenured players.

“Linemen are a very unique, scarce commodity. They’re like left-handed pitchers in baseball,” Western coach Jerry Partridge said. “People kind of hang with them forever. There’s a lot of guys you’ll see that will kick around three, four or five football teams until they find somewhere at the O-line spot.

“It’s a shame Rog has been unhealthy, because it’s kind of kept him from developing to his potential.”

That potential progressed at Western where the bruising Raytown, Mo., native became the first offensive lineman to earn MIAA freshman of the year honors and landed on the first team the ensuing three seasons.

A healthy Allen earned an active roster spot in St. Louis and played in two games to close out his rookie season. But Allen’s been fighting an uphill battle since tearing his right ACL in the first half of his first start — Week 17 of 2009.

In Allen’s month of Panthers practices, he had to learn blocking schemes tailored to rookie quarterback Cam Newton’s dizzying skill set, the stylistic antithesis of the pocket passers he previously protected.

Carolina’s linemen are required to adjust on the fly to Newton’s option zone-read decisions.

“You don’t know whether the ball’s been kept or if it’s been given away,” Allen said. “If you’re (running a) play that will go to the right if the quarterback keeps it, but if he gives it, the running back will run to the left. You kind of have to figure out who has the ball by how your defender reacts. It took a little getting used to, but now it’s fun.”

In between Allen’s time in Charlotte and working out at Competitive Edge Sports in Dallas, his wife, Josie, a graduate assistant athletic trainer at the University of Missouri, hooked him up with an offseason gig as a strength and conditioning intern at Mizzou.

There, Allen plays a rare role of a Division II alumnus instructing Division I athletes.

“It’s cool, but I don’t really see myself as a D-II guy anymore. I’ve been in the NFL, so they kind of look up to me, which is nice,” he said.

Though Western’s all-everything kicker Greg Zuerlein should receive significant interest in the coming months, Allen is the only ex-Griffon affiliated with an NFL team right now.

After decades without a player sticking at the top level, Western’s had at least one player on a roster since 2007, something that adds an element to Allen’s Division II program which has enjoyed a steady rise in recent years.

“It helps in recruiting a little bit because some of our rivals use it,” Partridge said. “... It’s special because you want to see kids do well, but certainly in recruiting it is a colorful benefit that helps you. I think we’ve done a great job of developing players through the years.”

Sam Robinson can be reached at sam.robinson@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SJNPSports.