Jonathan Allen - Pro Football Rumors

Jonathan Allen Wants To Stay With WFT

May 11th, 2021 at 10:56pm CST by Rory Parks

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.

Redskins Exercise Jonathan Allen’s Fifth-Year Option

April 27th, 2020 at 2:50pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s official. On Monday, the Redskins announced that they have exercised their fifth-year option on defensive lineman Jonathan Allen.

NFL teams have until May 3rd to exercise, or decline, the 2021 option for first-round draft picks from the 2017 class. As shown in PFR’s tracker, several players are already ticketed for a fifth year. Some of them were easy calls, including Jets safety Jamal Adams and Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White. Others – like Browns tight end David Njoku – required a little bit of extra thought.

Allen was one of the easier calls. After much of his rookie year, Allen has notched 14 sacks across the last two seasons for the Redskins. The Alabama product will have some additional help this year, thanks to the addition of Chase Young, who had 17 sacks in his final year at Ohio State.

Because Allen was drafted outside of the Top 10 (No. 17 overall), the salary figure on his 2021 season is not yet known. For those inside of the Top 10, those figures will correspond to the transition tag amount at their respective positions. In the case of Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (No. 1 overall), he’ll earn upwards of $16MM.

Fifth-year options for players are guaranteed for injury only, but that will change starting next year thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement.

NFC East Rumors: Long, Redskins, Cowboys

September 13th, 2019 at 4:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Let’s look at the latest from the NFC East, starting with how the Eagles attempt to fill the void Malik Jackson‘s injury created.

Jackson going down wounded one of the NFL’s top defensive lines, and it prompted Doug Pederson to address whether or not the Eagles and Chris Long had been in contact. The defensive end retired, in part because there would not be as much playing time to go around this season. But even with Jackson’s injury, Pederson said the Eagles were focused on adding a defensive tackle, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “We’re pretty deep at D-end right now so just the D-tackle spot,” Pederson said. The Eagles signed former Dolphins starter Akeem Spence to help on their interior. Jackson has worked as a 4-3 end, 4-3 tackle and 3-4 end but was a tackle in Philadelphia’s scheme.
The Redskins have declared Jonathan Allen out for their Week 2 game. He suffered an MCL sprain Sunday and is considered week-to-week, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). There is a chance Allen returns for Week 3 or Week 4, with ESPN.com’s John Keim classifying this as a grade 1 sprain (Twitter link). The third-year defensive end missed 11 games as a rookie but re-emerged with a 16-game 2018 season.
Moving to a third NFC East team’s defensive front, Taco Charlton has yet to reward the Cowboys for their first-round investment in him two years ago. Despite Robert Quinn being suspended, the Cowboys made Charlton a healthy scratch against the Giants. A trade would not surprise Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams, with the veteran Cowboys reporter noting the team may still be looking for a safety. The Cowboys are the only known team to contact the Dolphins on now-available Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Washington placed Derrius Guice on IR earlier Friday but will not make that move with Colt McCoy. The backup quarterback is progressing to the point a return in advance of Week 4 is realistic, Keim tweets. Dwayne Haskins served as Case Keenum‘s backup Sunday; a McCoy return may shift Washington’s first-round passer to a more developmental role. McCoy also figures to work as a mentor-type figure for the young quarterback.
Sterling Shepard remains in the Giants‘ concussion protocol and will miss Sunday’s game against the Bills. The Giants also have Cody Latimer listed as questionable. New York brought back T.J. Jones this week and is set to deploy its lowest-profile receiving corps since the midseason games Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr. missed in 2017.

East Notes: Amendola, Cowboys, Giants, Dez, Jonathan Allen

April 14th, 2018 at 7:32pm CST by Micah Powell

After playing five seasons with the Patriots, receiver Danny Amendola signed with the rival Dolphins in the 2018 offseason. The move happened, in part, because New England did not come close to matching the two-year, $12MM deal he received from Miami, the receiver told Jimmy Hascup of USA Today.

After taking pay cuts in the past to stay with the Patriots, the veteran wideout was expecting to have a chance to stay with the team. That did not happen with the notoriously stingy Bill Belichick.

“When free agency broke, I came to the realization that he wasn’t going to really come close to any of the other offers I had,” Amendola said. “I had to make a decision for my family and go down to Miami and continue my career there.”

Amendola also commented on playing for Belichick, saying, “It’s not easy, that’s for sure. He’s an (expletive) sometimes,” Amendola said. “There were a lot of things I didn’t like about playing for him, but I must say, the things I didn’t like were all in regards to getting the team better, and I respected him.”

Here’s more from around the East:

The Cowboys will be looking for a new go-to receiver after the departure of Dez Bryant. One of those candidates is Terrance Williams, who will be ready for work in June after recovering from a broken foot earlier in the offseason, ESPN’s Todd Archer writes. Though he will be ready to go, Williams is best used as a No. 2 or 3 wideout due to his inconsistency.
Speaking of Bryant, the receiver reportedly left his meeting with Jerry Jones saying he would see the team twice next season. If he is going to join a division foe, the Giants seem like an unlikely spot, SportsNet New York’s Ralph Vacchiano writes. The team’s depth at receiver with Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shephard seems to indicate there is no room for Bryant.
The Redskins are expected to have defensive tackle Jonathan Allen when the team resumes activities next week, NBC Sports’ JP Finlay writes. He suffered a Lisfranc injury in Week 5 of 2017 and did not play the rest of the season. A healthy Allen could helped Washington improve on its last-ranked run defense in 2017.

NFC East Notes: Allen, Giants, Eagles, Cravens

April 1st, 2018 at 12:21pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Redskins took defensive tackle Jonathan Allen in the first round of last year’s draft but he was limited to just the first five games of his rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury. The Alabama alum is hopeful to be ready for the team’s voluntary OTAs in late April but is not making any guarantees.

“I’m going to be honest, the OTAs they start like end of April, and this will be my first time, so I would like to think so, but I mean, honestly, there’s no way of telling at this point,” Allen said to Stephen Czarda of Redskins.com. “I feel like I’m going to be in a good spot come OTAs, so I’m excited for that, and right now, I’m just taking it day by day just trying to grind.”

Allen tallied a sack and three tackles in five starts last season. He’s projected to start at defensive end in the team’s 3-4 scheme alongside Matthew Ioannidis, with Evander Hood at nose tackle. There are still viable defensive-line options on the free-agent market as well, including Johnathan Hankins, Bennie Logan and Charles Johnson, among others. Stacy McGee and Anthony Lanier are projected to immediately back up Allen and Ioannidis on the defensive line.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

Matt Lombardo of NJ Advanced Media looks at some wide receivers the Giants might target in the draft if they were to trade Odell Beckham. The team is unlikely to take a wide receiver with their No. 2 overall pick in the draft but if they were to acquire a first-round pick in a trade for Beckham, Lombardo identifies Courtland Sutton (SMU), Calvin Ridley (Alabama), D.J. Moore (Maryland) and James Washington (Oklahoma State) as potential fits.
In his Eagles mailbag, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advanced Media shot down the team potentially trying to acquire Beckham or Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in a trade. In both instances, the Eagles available cap space would make a deal unlikely. In Beckham’s case, especially, it’s unlikely the Giants would deal Beckham to a divisional rival.
In an interview with Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, newly-acquired Broncos defensive back Su’a Cravens continued to explain why he was optimistic about his new home compared to his time with the Redskins. “I was going through some personal issues with my family and I didn’t feel like myself,” Cravens said. “I did tell my teammates I was going to retire but I never officially retired. … The Redskins brought me in, they told me they wanted me to get checked out, make sure I was all right. I go to a doctor and he tells me I’m going through something I didn’t even know I was going through. He said this is the reason why you feel this way and you’re in no condition to be making these decisions because of this and I guarantee if you rehab and get yourself better, you won’t be feeling this way.Once I got cleared in December, it was like I was a completely different person. Looking back at myself I’m thinking, that’s crazy. I thought I was just messed up but come to find out, I was going through something I wasn’t even aware of.’’

NFC East Notes: Redskins, Cousins, Cowboys

November 28th, 2017 at 4:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Redskins are reportedly no longer considering the $28.8MM transition tag for Kirk Cousins in 2018. Instead, Washington wants to evaluate the quarterback down the stretch of the season to determine whether it wants to use the $34.5MM franchise tag on him, sign him to a long-term deal, or allow him to test free agency unencumbered. That’s just fine with Cousins.

“You know, I can understand the unique situation that it is, and you’re trying to find value in every player at every position,” Cousins told 106.7 The Fan (transcription via Chris Lingebach of CBS DC). “If you still need five more games, or five-plus, to make a decision, so be it, but I’d like to think that I’ve played a lot of football here. I’ve been here six years and I think the people in the building have gotten to know me, who I am as a man, who I am as a football player, what I’m about and who I’m gonna be going forward and I’d like to think they can make an informed decision regardless. But if they need five more games, so be it, but I understand the need to find value and understand what you’re getting.”

At 5-6, the Redskins have just a 6.7% chance of reaching the postseason, per Football Outsiders, but there is still plenty riding on these final games.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

Recently, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated that he was backing down from his lawsuit threat against the NFL because the league promised to “get input from all the owners” on Roger Goodell‘s new deal, rather than leaving it up to just the Compensation Committee. No such deal has been made, however, according to NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart. Lockhart reiterated that the six-man committee has the sole power to approve an extension for the commissioner (link via PFT).
Redskins coach Jay Gruden says defensive lineman Jonathan Allen remains on course for returning from injured reserve this season (link via ESPN.com’s John Keim). Allen, who has missed the bulk of the season with a Lisfranc injury, can be activated off IR for the Week 15 game against the Cardinals.
Eagles defensive Brandon Graham registered his seventh sack of the season on Sunday and that triggered a $250K incentive in his 2017 contract, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. By hitting that milestone, he also boosted his 2018 salary by $250K.
On Tuesday, the Giants announced that Eli Manning will be benched this week in favor of Geno Smith.

NFC Notes: Avril, Redskins, Panthers, Sloter

October 19th, 2017 at 8:29pm CST by Ben Levine

After being placed on injured reserve earlier this week, there were whispers that Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril could decide to hang up his cleats. While the player subsequently denied those reports, coach Pete Carroll addressed the rumors earlier today.

“We have to wait and see on that,” Carroll said (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson). “That’s really up to the docs and Cliff and all that kind of stuff, and I’m one-thousand percent supportive of whatever we need to do here to help him, and so that’s why we’re taking our time. The IR thing gives him six weeks at least to figure whatever else we can figure out. But he’s not sure what’s best for him right now and he’s trying to find that out. We’re giving him hopefully a good sense and a comfort that we’re going to support it all the way throughout and figure out what’s best and all that.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

The Redskins placed rookie defense end Jonathan Allen on the injured reserve earlier today, but ESPN.com’s John Keim reports that the team is hoping he’ll be back before the end of the season. Coach Jay Gruden said the team’s prognosis changed after the player underwent surgery on Wednesday night. “We got better news after the surgery that it wouldn’t be as lengthy as they typically are,” Gruden said. “That’s good news. But we still have to rehab it. He’s a big man and sometimes bigger guys take a little bit longer. We’ll wait and see. Hopefully we see him again, but it’s up to the rehab.”
While it was initially believed that Kurt Coleman could miss up to a month, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer reports that the Panthers safety could return this weekend after missing only a pair of games. Coleman suffered a sprained knee ligament earlier this month in a win over the Patriots. Meanwhile, linebacker Luke Kuechly made more progress towards passing the concussion protocol, as the Pro Bowler was seen riding a stationary bike earlier today.
Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is confident that he’ll return this season, and the team may be forced to make a difficult roster decision. With the team currently rostering Sam Bradford and Case Keenum, third-stringer Kyle Sloter appears to be the odd man out. Of course, the undrafted rookie isn’t worried about future transactions, as he’s confident he’ll find a job elsewhere. “I’m not really too concerned day in and day out with my NFL future,’’ Sloter told Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com. “I think that I’ll have a job.” The reporter also tweets that the organization could look to pass Sloter through waivers with hopes that he’ll land on their practice squad.

Redskins’ Jonathan Allen To Return This Year?

October 19th, 2017 at 10:46am CST by Zachary Links

This week, it was reported that Jonathan Allen‘s Lisfranc injury would be a season-ender. Turns out that might not be the case. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that the defensive lineman will go on injured reserve with a “designation to return.”

Schefter’s phrasing is a bit puzzling since teams are no longer obligated to designate players for return from IR at the time of injury. But, it sounds as though there is at least some possibility for a mid-season return for the rookie. If that’s the case, then the rules dictate that Allen could rejoin the roster in as little as eight weeks, allowing him to rejoin the squad for the end of the regular season and – if the Redskins qualify – the postseason.

Allen’s injury typically requires 6-8 weeks of rest followed by rehab, as John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link) notes, so Allen will have to be a fast healer in order to get back on the field this year. To his credit, the first-round pick has battled through some tough injuries in the past, including arthritis in both shoulders.

In five games this year, Allen registered ten total tackles and one sack.

Redskins’ Jonathan Allen Done For Season

October 18th, 2017 at 11:13am CST by Zachary Links

Jonathan Allen‘s rookie season is already over. The defensive lineman’s Lisfranc injury will rule him out the rest of the way, John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears. The Redskins will place Allen on injured reserve this week.

Initially, the Redskins believed that Allen’s foot issue would keep him out for only 3-4 weeks. However, further testing revealed that the injury was more serious.

It’s a frustrating setback for Allen, particularly given his history of injuries in college. In his five games this year, Allen showed lots of promise and graded out as a higher-end interior defender, per the metrics at Pro Football Focus. He had ten total tackles and one sack in his abbreviated campaign.

If not for his health issues, Allen might have been a top five pick in the 2017 draft. But, because of concerns about his shoulders, the Redskins were able to scoop him up at No. 17 overall. His future is bright, but Allen will have to put everything on hold until the offseason.

With Allen sidelined, the Redskins will lean a bit more on reserve defensive end Matthew Ioannidis and nose tackle Stacy McGee. As detailed by PFF, Ioannidis looked sharp against San Francisco on Sunday, ending the day with two sacks, one hit, and three additional QB hurries. Ioannidis has 20 total pressures this season off of just 121 pass-rushing snaps.

While the Redskins have options to plug from within, they’ll add a defensive lineman for depth, at the very least. They may also explore some veteran options.

The Redskins are 3-2 after topping the 49ers. Next up is a Monday night game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Redskins’ Jonathan Allen Out 3-4 Weeks

October 16th, 2017 at 2:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Redskins rookie Jonathan Allen has a Lisfranc sprain will be out for three or four weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Allen, a first-round pick, has been starting on the defensive line, moving between end and nose tackle.

Allen, an Alabama product, was regarded by many as a top five talent in this year’s class. However, on draft night, he slipped all the way to Washington at No. 17 thanks to his medical history. The foot injury, however, appears to be a new one. In college, Allen was plagued by arthritic shoulder pain.

Through five games this year, Allen has ten tackles and one sack. Pro Football Focus has him categorized as an interior defender and he ranked No. 32 in that group of 122 qualified players.

As a senior in 2016, Allen had 69 tackles, including 16 tackles for a loss. He also had 10.5 sacks, nearly matching his 12 sack total from 2015.