Jonathan Allen

NFC Notes: Gannon, Allen, Campbell, Saints

Jonathan Gannon‘s Eagles exit brought a tampering penalty against the Cardinals, who made impermissible contact with their new head coach during the offseason. New Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort reached out to Gannon shortly after the NFC championship game, after the two-year Eagles DC expressed a desire to stay in Philadelphia. Gannon did not tell the Eagles about Ossenfort’s pre-Super Bowl call or his intention to interview with the Cardinals, according to ESPN.com’s Tim McManus. This affected Philly’s timing regarding Vic Fangio, who was perhaps this offseason’s most coveted coordinator.

A consultant with the Eagles last season, Fangio was well-liked and became the team’s choice to succeed Gannon as DC. Fangio all but confirmed the timing involving Gannon led him out of town. Before Super Bowl LVII, the Eagles had expected to retain Gannon, McManus adds. When Ossenfort was in Tennessee, he put Gannon’s name on a short list of possible HCs — in the event he landed a GM job. A Jan. 29 report indicated Fangio would accept the Dolphins’ DC offer; he was officially hired Feb. 2. The Cardinals’ Gannon interview request did not emerge until Feb. 12. By that point, the Eagles were aiming to retain Gannon after Fangio had bolted. With the Eagles having demoted their new DC — Sean Desai — and given Matt Patricia play-calling duties, Gannon’s Philly return this week will be interesting.

Here is the latest from the NFC:

  • Listing Jonathan Allen as a player he expects to be traded during the 2024 offseason, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Commanders defensive tackle is not eager to go through another rebuild. Allen made his views on that matter fairly well known recently, after the team traded Montez Sweat and Chase Young. A losing streak commenced soon after, and Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew are expected to be fired. Teams asked about Allen at the deadline, and while the Commanders resisted, new owner Josh Harris‘ involvement in the Sweat and Young deals showed an openness to stockpiling draft capital. Allen’s four-year, $72MM extension runs through 2025. It would cost Washington $18MM in dead money to trade Allen before June 1, so it would stand to take a nice offer to pry the seventh-year veteran from D.C.
  • The Giants have phased Parris Campbell out of their receiver rotation, going as far as to make him a healthy scratch in each of the past three games. Campbell signed a one-year, $4.7MM deal in free agency, with The Athletic’s Dan Duggan noting he is losing out on $100K per-game roster bonuses with these scratches. As the Giants emphasize bigger roles for younger wideouts Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt, Campbell is preparing to leave in free agency come March. “When I came here, did I think things would be different? Of course,” Campbell said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “… During free agency, the market was kind of slow for receivers, but the Giants gave me an opportunity — and that’s all I want. This coming offseason, whoever is interested in me and wants to give me an opportunity, I’ll take it.” After three injury-plagued seasons, Campbell has stayed mostly healthy over his past two. The ex-Colts second-rounder, however, has 20 receptions for just 104 yards this year.
  • It is unlikely Marshon Lattimore and Michael Thomas return this season, NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill tweets. Lattimore suffered a significant ankle injury and has missed the past five Saints games. Thomas stayed healthier this year than he has since the 2010s, but the former All-Pro wideout has also missed New Orleans’ past five contests. Thomas, who may well be in his final weeks as a Saint, is down with a knee injury.
  • Six teams put in waiver claims on linebacker Christian Elliss, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. The Patriots won out. Had Elliss not garnered any claims, the Eagles wanted to bring him back on their practice squad. A 2021 Eagles UDFA, Elliss had led the team in special teams snaps at the time of his exit earlier this month.

DT Jonathan Allen Addresses Commanders Future

The Commanders’ defensive front saw major changes made this season with Montez Sweat and Chase Young dealt at the trade deadline. The team still has a pair of former first-rounders along the D-line in defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, however.

The former was one of several DTs to land lucrative second contracts this offseason, inking a four-year, $90MM deal. That has him on the books for the foreseeable future, but the same is not the case for Allen. He is under contract for 2024 and ’25, but no guaranteed salary exists on his pact for those two seasons. Moving on from the 28-year-old via trade or a post-June 1 release could thus yield cap savings and clear one of the team’s top cap hits for the near future.

Notably, Washington made it clear no trade offers for Allen would be considered this fall. The Commanders were willing to part ways with Sweat and, after lowering their asking price, Young in lieu of signing one or both to new deals in the offseason. That is not a concern for Payne or Allen, but the latter’s latest remarks on the state of the franchise suggest he would be willing to depart the nation’s capital.

When asked about whether he has contemplated playing on another team during an appearance on 106.7 The Fan, Allen said, “1000%. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. I play this game to win and I would love to win here for sure but I want to win first and foremost. So that’s always going to be at the front and center of my mind and everything I’m going to be doing in my career is going to make sure I’ll have an opportunity to win” (h/t Grant Paulsen of NBC Sports Washington).

The Commanders recently moved on from defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, and head coach Ron Rivera is widely expected to be replaced this offseason. Those changes could bring about an uptick in on-field performance for Washington, but a transition period under new owner Josh Harris could very well result in at least a brief rebuilding phase. In that case, it would be interesting to see how the team would proceed with Allen.

The two-time Pro Bowler has posted 5.5 sacks this season, putting him on pace to finish near his career-best output of nine in that regard in 2021. Allen has added nine tackles for loss, meaning he will likely reach double-digits for the fourth time in his career. He would carry signficant value for interested teams in terms of performance, but his contract would be a burden for an acquiring team.

Allen is set to carry cap hits of $21.5MM and $23MM over the next two seasons, figures which would make his pact difficult to move. Nevertheless, the Commanders are on track to miss the postseason for the sixth time in Allen’s seven years in Washington. His willingness to remain with the franchise in 2024 and beyond will be a key storyline for the transitioning team this offseason.

Commanders Will Not Trade Jonathan Allen

The Commanders may be prepared to move at least one of their edge rushing duo of Montez Sweat and Chase Young, but another high-profile defender is not available. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Washington will not be dealing DT Jonathan Allen, regardless of whether the club loses to the Eagles today and drops to 3-5.

According to Schefter, the Commanders received trade inquiries on Allen following their loss to the Giants last week. While these types of reports often suggest that a team will only move a player if it is “blown away” by an offer, Washington is reportedly unwilling to even discuss the two-time Pro Bowler.

Of course, Sweat and Young are in contract years, while Allen is under club control through 2025. And though Allen carries a salary cap charge that ranks in the top-10 among defensive players and will carry $20MM+ cap hits in each of the next two seasons, that is not terribly unreasonable for a high-end defensive tackle capable of pressuring opposing quarterbacks from the interior of the line.

Despite the fact that Pro Football Focus’ metrics have generally considered Allen to be an average defender against the run, PFF has awarded the Alabama product high marks for his pass-rushing acumen, which is supported by the 16.5 sacks and 47 QB hits he has compiled over the past two seasons. His durability — he has played in at least 15 games every season since 2018 — further enhances his value.

Allen is clearly viewed as a long-term cornerstone, but in addition to Sweat and Young, other platform-year players like QB Jacoby Brissett, RB Antonio Gibson, WR Curtis Samuel, and CB Kendall Fuller are all possible trade candidates, according to Schefter (the ESPN scribe also named LB Cody Barton as a player that could be on the move, but Barton was placed on IR yesterday).

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com confirm that other clubs have inquired on Fuller, who had two pick-sixes last year and who has added two more interceptions and six passes defensed through seven games in 2023. Among qualified players, PFF presently considers Fuller the fourth-best corner this season and is especially bullish on his coverage ability.

Largest 2023 Cap Hits: Defense

While the NFL’s top 2023 cap hits go to players on offense, a number of pass rushers are tied to lofty figures as well. None check in higher than Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Williams and Chiefs D-tackle Chris Jones carry high contract-year cap hits, while the Steelers’ two front-seven cornerstones each are set to go into training camp with cap figures north of $20MM. As the salary cap climbed to $224.8MM this year, here are the top defensive cap figures as camps near:

  1. Leonard Williams, DL (Giants): $32.26MM
  2. T.J. Watt, OLB (Steelers): $29.37MM
  3. Myles Garrett, DE (Browns): $29.18MM
  4. Chris Jones, DT (Chiefs): $28.29MM
  5. Aaron Donald, DL (Rams): $26MM
  6. Arik Armstead, DT (49ers): $23.95MM
  7. Cameron Heyward, DL (Steelers): $22.26MM
  8. C.J. Mosley, LB (Jets): $21.48MM
  9. Jonathan Allen, DT (Commanders): $21.44MM
  10. Shaquil Barrett, OLB (Buccaneers): $21.25MM
  11. Grady Jarrett, DT (Falcons): $20.63MM
  12. Marlon Humphrey, CB (Ravens): $19.99MM
  13. Shaquille Leonard, LB (Colts): $19.79MM
  14. Kevin Byard, S (Titans): $19.62MM
  15. Adoree’ Jackson, CB (Giants): $19.08MM
  16. Harold Landry, OLB (Titans): $18.8MM
  17. Justin Simmons, S (Broncos): $18.15MM
  18. Jamal Adams, S (Seahawks): $18.11MM
  19. Matt Judon, DE (Patriots): $18.107MM
  20. Quandre Diggs, S (Seahawks): $18.1MM
  21. Nick Bosa, DE (49ers): $17.9MM
  22. DeForest Buckner, DT (Colts): $17.25MM
  23. Emmanuel Ogbah, DE (Dolphins): $17.19MM
  24. DeMarcus Lawrence, DE (Cowboys): $17.11MM
  25. Eddie Jackson, S (Bears): $17.1MM

The Chiefs are working toward a second extension agreement with Jones, who is in the final season of a four-year, $80MM contract. A new deal with the star inside pass rusher would free up cap space, and DeAndre Hopkins is believed to be monitoring this situation.

As for Williams, the Giants had wanted to adjust his deal to reduce his eye-opening cap number. As of mid-June, however, no extension appeared to be on the team’s radar. The previous Giants regime signed off on the 2021 Williams extension (three years, $63MM). The Giants are also uninterested — for the time being, at least — in extending Jackson, who was also a Dave Gettleman-era defensive addition.

Donald is in the second season of a three-year, $95MM deal. The Rams gave Donald a landmark raise last year, convincing the all-everything D-tackle to squash retirement talk. A no-trade clause exists in Donald’s contract, which pays out its guarantees this year. Mosley remains tied to the $17MM-per-year deal the Mike Maccagnan regime authorized with the Jets. That contract, which reset the off-ball linebacker market in 2019, still has two seasons remaining on it due to the deal tolling after Mosley’s 2020 COVID-19 opt-out call. The Jets restructured the deal last year.

Washington now has two D-tackles tied to deals of at least $18MM per year. While Daron Payne‘s pact is worth more ($22.5MM AAV), higher cap hits on that deal will come down the road. Three years remain on Allen’s 2021 agreement. At safety, no team is spending like the Seahawks. In addition to the big-ticket deals authorized for Adams and Diggs, Seattle gave ex-Giants starter Julian Love a two-year, $6MM accord in March.

New Titans GM Ran Carthon attempted to give Byard a pay cut. That request did not go over well, but the standout safety remains with the team and has not requested a trade. Tennessee re-signed Landry on a five-year, $87.5MM deal in 2022; the veteran edge rusher has yet to play on that deal due to the ACL tear he sustained just before last season.

The 49ers can bring Bosa’s number down via an extension, which has long been on the team’s docket. As San Francisco extended Deebo Samuel just after training camp began last year, Bosa received back-burner treatment due to the fifth-year option. The star defensive end’s price undoubtedly went up during the waiting period, with the former No. 2 overall pick earning Defensive Player of the Year acclaim in the fourth year of his rookie contract.

NFL COVID List Updates

We are trying our best here at Pro Football Rumors to keep up with all of the updates throughout the league concerning players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. A lot of teams had high hopes during today’s testing as they were trying to get players activated in time for Sunday’s slate of games.

Here are updates as of 8:30 PM ET, Sat 12/18:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Eddie Goldman
  • OC Bill Lazor, DC Sean Desai, STC Chris Tabor in COVID-19 protocols

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB P.J. Locke

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Four Coaches in COVID-19 protocols

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

WFT Designates DE Montez Sweat To Return

WFT will have most of their defensive line when they take on the Eagles on Tuesday night. Washington Football Team announced that they’ve activated the following four players from the reserve/COVID-19 list:

Sweat, who is currently on injured reserve, was also designated for return, meaning his return to the field is imminent. Washington has been without Sweat since Week 8. The first-string defensive end had been recovering from a fractured jaw, and he intended to return to practice on Wednesday. A first-round Washington draftee, Sweat has registered four sacks this season and has 20 for his career. The Mississippi State product has forced two fumbles in each of his three seasons.

When fully healthy, Allen and Sweat should sit atop the depth chart. Smith-Williams and Toohill, who have both been forced into significant roles on the defensive line following injuries to Sweat and Chase Young, will be able to settle back into their backup/special teams roles.

We learned yesterday that the NFL was pushing Sunday’s WFT/Eagles game to Tuesday.

Contract Details: Chubb, Thomas, Allen, Wilson

Let’s catch up on the details of some of the big contracts recently signed around the NFL:

  • We heard last night that Browns running back Nick Chubb was signing a big three-year extension worth $36MM with $20MM guaranteed. We’ve got the full equation now, thanks to what a league source told Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com. For starters, Chubb is getting a $12MM signing bonus. It also turns out that not *quite* $20MM is fully guaranteed. The actual guarantee is only $17.133MM. However, it’s almost effectively $20MM, since the other $2.87MM in guarantees vests in 2022 and it’s incredibly unlikely Chubb would be off the roster by then. Chubb will have low salaries and low cap hits in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he’ll have a cap hit of $14.85MM. He’ll have a $10.85MM salary but only the $2.87MM of that will be guaranteed. In 2024, he’ll have a non-guaranteed salary of $11.775MM and a cap hit of $16.2MM for his final year.
  • Washington just made Logan Thomas the seventh highest-paid tight end in the game, and now we have new figures on his deal. His three-year, $24MM extension will give him a cap hit of $6.465MM in 2022, $8.75MM in 2023, and $8.315MM in 2024, John Keim of EPSN.com reports. The dead cap hits for those three years will be $7.465MM, $3.5MM, and $1.75MM respectively. In other words it won’t be too hard for the team to get out of the contract after 2022 if they wanted to. Thomas will receive a $300K roster bonus each season, and is due a $500K roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, so that will be an important date in the final season of his new pact.
  • Thomas wasn’t the only player to get an extension from Washington this past week. The Football Team also gave defensive tackle Jonathan Allen a big four-year, $72MM deal. We didn’t previously know the full guaranteed amount, but it’s apparently $35.6MM. Allen’s cap hits for those four new seasons will be $9.5MM, $21.5MM, $21.5MM, and $23MM, Keim writes. As such, he won’t start really weighing down Washington’s books until 2023. He has a $14MM salary for that season which becomes guaranteed on the third day of that league year. His dead cap charges will be $26MM, $18MM, $12MM, $6MM for 2022-2025.
  • Zach Wilson and the Jets avoided potential disaster by agreeing to terms on his rookie deal right before training camp started, and now we have more context on the holdup. We knew there was an issue about potential signing bonus money deferment, and it turns out New York wanted the rookie quarterback to wait to get a significant amount of cash. The Jets “only opened negotiations last week,” and wanted Wilson to defer a whopping $6MM of his signing bonus to 2022, a source told Jeff Howe of The Athletic (Twitter link). After the team relented and agreed to pay the whole signing bonus upfront, Wilson hopped on a plane to New York. In return, the Jets did get some of the offset language they were seeking.

Washington, Jonathan Allen Agree To $72MM Extension

Washington shockingly won the NFC East last season thanks to the strength of their young defense, and now they’re locking up a key member of that defense. The team reached agreement on a four-year extension worth a whopping $72MM with defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, his agency Team IFA announced on Twitter.

Per his agents, the deal comes with a massive $30MM signing bonus. We heard in early June that the two sides had commenced extension talks, and things came together relatively quickly. The 2017 first-round pick was previously set to enter the final year of his rookie deal under the fifth-year option.

Allen became a starter immediately after getting drafted 17th overall, but was limited to five games as a rookie due to a Lisfranc injury. He bounced back in a big way in his sophomore season, starting all 16 games and racking up eight sacks. Since his rookie campaign, he’s missed only one game.

An interior lineman who can be a wrecking ball in the run game, Allen has also shown a good amount of pass-rushing upside. After notching eight sacks in 2018, he had another six the following year. He only had two this past season as he didn’t play quite as prominent a pass-rushing role, but he still had 14 quarterback hits.

The $18MM average annual salary for his new pact ranks him fifth in the league among interior defensive linemen, as Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.

Allen only turned 26 earlier this year, and is now signed through the 2025 season. With fellow youngsters Chase Young, Daron Payne, and Montez Sweat all still on their rookie deals, Washington’s defensive front has a very bright future.

Jonathan Allen, WFT Begin Extension Talks

The oldest of Washington’s four first-round defensive linemen, Jonathan Allen is going into his fifth-year option season. Washington, however, will explore keeping the defensive tackle around for much longer.

Allen confirmed Wednesday he and the team have begun extension negotiations, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala (on Twitter). The 2017 first-round pick said in May he wanted to stay in the nation’s capital long-term; he reiterated that hope Wednesday and would prefer to have a new deal by the start of training camp.

Since selecting Allen, Washington added Daron Payne (2018), Montez Sweat (’19) and Chase Young (’20) in Round 1. The team has invested tremendous draft capital on its defensive front, but Sweat and Young can be kept on their rookie deals well into the 2020s. With Ryan Kerrigan gone, Washington has an opening for a veteran-contract D-lineman.

Allen, 26, has bounced back well from an injury-marred rookie year. After a Lisfranc injury limited the Alabama product to just five games in 2017, he has missed just one contest over the past three seasons. Pro Football Focus rated Allen as a top-20 interior D-lineman last season. Between the 2018-19 campaigns, Allen totaled 14 sacks and 25 quarterback knockdowns. He will command a lucrative extension.

DeForest Buckner and Chris Jones did well to bridge the gap between Aaron Donald and the D-tackle field, salary-wise, last year. The Colts and Chiefs standout inside rushers, respectively, signed for $21MM and $20MM per year. This range would figure to be an Allen target, though it might be a bit too lofty for Washington’s tastes. The Grady Jarrett and Kenny Clark re-ups (for $17.5MM and $17MM on average, respectively) may be more relevant to the Washington-Allen negotiations.

Jonathan Allen Wants To Stay With WFT

Washington DT Jonathan Allen has been a part of the team’s dysfunctional Bruce Allen regime and a part of the new Ron Rivera era. Apparently, he likes what he has seen from Rivera and is excited about the direction the team is heading.

“[W]e’re moving in the right direction, from the front office to the players, and I love everything that we’re building here,” Allen said (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post). In speaking about his long-term goals, he added, “[i]t’s always been my dream to play my career in one spot. … This is my home. This is where I want to stay.”

WFT presumably shares those sentiments. Allen, the No. 17 overall pick of the 2017 draft, has largely lived up to his billing. Although a Lisfranc injury limited him to five games in his rookie campaign, he missed only one contest over the subsequent three seasons. He notched just two sacks in 2020 after recording 14 sacks across the 2018-19 seasons, but his 14 QB hits last year actually represented an increase from the 10 he posted in 2019. Pro Football Focus also gave him a terrific 83.7 pass-rushing grade, and PFF considered him the 18th-best interior defender in the league out of 125 qualifiers.

Washington has invested significant draft capital in its defensive front over the past few years, and that strategy is paying off. The team yielded the second-fewest yards per game and the fourth-fewest points per game last year, and Allen was a key component of that success. He is scheduled to play out the 2021 campaign under the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, which will pay him a little more than $10MM.

At this point, we haven’t heard anything to suggest that negotiations on a long-term extension have taken place, though it’s likely that the club has at least discussed parameters with Allen’s camp. However, those talks could be tricky. The top of the 4-3 interior defender market includes AAVs of $20MM and above, and Allen may shoot for a deal in that range. But unlike those $20MM players, Allen has not yet earned a Pro Bowl bid, nor has he put together a double-digit sack campaign, so Washington would likely be looking for something closer to a $15MM/year deal.