After failing to find a trade partner, the Washington Commanders released DT Jonathan Allen this past week. While the move came as a bit of a surprise given Allen’s stature in Washington as a former first-round pick and one of their best players over the past eight years, plugged-in beat reporters had been alluding to this possibility for about a year given the brand-new regime, Allen’s age and his contract status.
Now Allen will be playing elsewhere, he should command a healthy market as a free agent even though Washington wasn’t able to find a trade market for the veteran. Not having to part with a draft pick is huge for teams, especially this year with such a deep class of defensive tackles. It should be noted that because Allen was released, he won’t count against teams in the compensatory pick formula, which is especially notable since he should sign a pretty solid deal.
Although Allen’s production dipped in the past two years, he’s still a quality starter who can be a big boost to the middle of a team’s defense. He had three sacks in half a season of work last year and fought through what should have been a season-ending biceps injury to return for Washington’s playoff run. Expect him to prioritize a contending team after finally getting a taste of winning lsat year with the Commanders.
Allen, 30, was selected in the first round in 2017 out of Alabama by Washington. He signed a four-year, $11.596 million contract that included a $6.573 million signing bonus.
Washington exercised the fifth-year option on Allen which was set to pay him $10.05 million in 2021. He later agreed to a four-year, $72 million extension.
Allen was entering the final year of that deal and set to make a base salary of $15.5 million when he was released.
In 2024, Allen appeared in eight games for Washington and recorded 19 total tackles and three sacks.
We have him included in our Top 100 2025 NFL Free Agents list.
Pittsburgh Steelers
I don’t quite know how to describe this but Allen just seems like the type of player Steelers HC Mike Tomlin will gravitate toward. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a screaming need on the defensive line with Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi but adding a player like Allen could provide a significant short-term boost and make for a nasty rotation up front. It’s also possible Allen could take the place of Ogunjobi, who is the same age, has battled injuries and is a potential cap cut to save $7 million.
The Steelers would probably turn around and reinvest all of that $7 million in Allen if they cut Ogunjobi, and that’s not necessarily a slam-dunk decision. Ogunjobi doesn’t have the sack production but he’s been a solid player and was Pittsburgh’s nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award this past year. Perhaps a pay cut in exchange for some guarantees is a viable resolution.
Even if not, the Steelers have more than $60 million in cap space to work with this offseason and investing some of that along the line of scrimmage is as good a place as any. It should also be pointed out that Steelers DL coach Karl Dunbar was Allen’s position coach when he was a team captain at Alabama, so there’s some familiarity between the two sides.
Minnesota Vikings
After pinching pennies the past couple of years, the Vikings have plenty of cap space to work with this year and are expected to preserve a significant amount of it to make additions to the roster even with pending free agent QB Sam Darnold. One of their biggest needs is at defensive tackle where they have Harrison Phillips and not a whole lot else. Allen would be a high-profile, potential high-impact addition at Minnesota’s greatest position of need and help keep DC Brian Flores’ defensive unit strong for the second straight year.
The Vikings don’t have any coaches who worked directly with Allen but several folks on the offensive coaching staff, like HC Kevin O’Connell, did overlap with him in Washington and know what he’s about. An early report after Allen’s release linked Minnesota to the veteran tackle.
Minnesota will also find Allen’s stats as a non-compensatory free agent appealing. While the Vikings will be active in free agency this year and not as mindful of the compensatory formula as past years, they do have several high-profile free agents who could qualify for picks, including Darnold, CB Byron Murphy, OT Cam Robinson, S Camryn Bynum, RB Aaron Jones, CB Stephon Gilmore and OLB Patrick Jones. Even players like RB Cam Akers and DL Jerry Tillery could get in the mix. Signing Allen raises the chances one of those players qualifies the Vikings for an extra pick in 2026.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers were actually the first team linked to Allen this offseason, as he was reportedly part of the negotiations for the Deebo Samuel trade between San Francisco and Washington. No deal materialized because of Allen’s salary, as he was owed $16.5 million in the final year of his contract. The 49ers are trying to be more conscientious about their spending going forward, so that salary was likely a non-starter.
That doesn’t mean the 49ers wouldn’t be interested in Allen as a free agent if his market ends up less than that. San Francisco has a major hole at defensive tackle after moving on from Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead in back-to-back offseasons. Allen is getting older but based on the past two years, he could still be an impactful player in the middle and help the 49ers get back to being dominant in the trenches, which was arguably the biggest missing ingredient for them last year.
Allen’s market might still be stronger than $16.5 million depending on if he gets a multi-year deal, so the 49ers could still end up priced out. It would make sense for them to be in the mix, however.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons’ defense is long overdue for some attention this offseason and the process has already started with the overhaul of the defensive coaching staff, with former Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich coming in to take the same position. Ulbrich oversaw some playoff-caliber defenses with the Jets even if the rest of the roster never reached that level, and his best units were built around the ability to get pressure with just the front four. The Falcons need multiple upgrades to reach that point with their current roster.
Both Falcons DTs David Onyemata and Grady Jarrett are potential cap casualties with a combined $24 million in savings available if both are cut. Jarrett could be brought back with just a pay cut but some additional help is needed, particularly because Atlanta got virtually nothing out of 2024 second-round DT Ruke Orhorhoro. Allen would bring a significant boost to this group and raise the floor and ceiling of the unit.
It’s also worth noting Falcons assistant GM Kyle Smith was the college scouting director in Washington when Allen was drafted in 2017 and ascended the front office ranks even higher by the time Allen was extended in 2021. There’s a good chance he has a high opinion of what Allen could bring to the Falcons organization.
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