#606: BREAKING: Minnesota Vikings sign Jonathan Allen to 3-year $60 million contract | NFL

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome into the show today. Thank you for making this
podcast a part of your day. We've got very early
breaking news on this Tuesday morning. The Minnesota Vikings have
unofficially signed defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who previously played for
the Washington Commanders. Now here's a little bit about Alan.

(00:30):
He's thirty years old. He made the Pro Bowl in
twenty twenty one. In twenty twenty two, when he combined
for sixteen and a half sacks, He's recorded forty two
sacks and one hundred and eight starts in his eight
seasons from Washington. He played college ball at the University
of Alabama. And here's one of the keys about Jonathan

(00:53):
Allen that really sticks out to me. Last year, he
had an injury to his peck, missed several games mid season,
and at the end of the season came back late
when they realized it wasn't a full tear. But prior
to last season when he missed several games, Allen has
been very durable throughout his NFL career, missing only a

(01:17):
combined three games in his previous six years, which is
important for a thirty year old defensive tackle. He comes
to the Minnesota Vikings with a clean bill of health
for the most part during his eight year career, which

(01:39):
I think is a very valuable thing for a player
that's thirty years old and will be playing on the
Minnesota Vikings organization for three years until he's thirty three
years old. So that's one of the first things that
jumps out to me. Another observation about Jonathan Allen that

(02:02):
jumps out to me, and it's really not even about
Jonathan Allen, but it's about the Minnesota Vikings roster reconstruction.
The Vikings are addressing important needs during this free agency,
just like they did last year, and they're being very
selective with who they're bringing in. So they brought in

(02:27):
a center, they are bringing in a defensive tackle. They
re signed Vyron Murphy Jr. They signed Rogers, a former
Eagles cornerback. The Minnesota Vikings aren't taking their money and
splashing on the biggest free agency names. They're taking their

(02:48):
money and selectively picking guys that have performed well in
the past, like a Jonathan Allen. And they've also selected
guys that are coming in and can be contributors right away.
They might have a past like the cornerback that they
signed yesterday from the Eagles. Has a little bit of

(03:10):
a past. His contract number wasn't high. He had a
little gambling issue prior with another organization, but he clearly
has potential and clearly has ability. But there's no doubt
that signing Jonathan Allen is a huge need for the

(03:31):
Vikings because instead of sending six or seven guys at
one time to get to the quarterback, which the Vikings
have done for the last two years, the Vikings need
to change their strategy and get after the quarterback with
just four or five guys instead of setting the house

(03:52):
and setting the engage eight blitz going back to Madden
in like two thousand and eight on my PlayStation two,
the Vikings can rush for and get to the quarterback.
Because that's where we've seen the Vikings defense struggle the
most when they face high end competition.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
When they face the Ben Johnson's and.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
The Matthew Staffords and the Sean mcvays of the world.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
We have seen the Vikings defense.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Struggle a little bit more when they face that high
end offensive coordinator competition. Those guys are smarter than you know,
typical mid level offensive coordinators. So when the Vikings face
those competitors. We've seen the Vikings defense struggle more so

(04:49):
in order to combat that and compete with those big
time offensive gurus, the Minnesota Vikings needed to address this
position and get a player like Jonathan Allen to disrupt
the quarterback.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
And then the opposive line.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
So this is a very good signing and he will
compliment Jonathan Grenard and Van Ginkel very well.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Harrison Phillips, I think is still on the roster.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Too, So this signing was a big deal because the
Vikings just got another disruptor that can impact the game.
And when you think about defensive tackles, it's not always
about their stats, how many tackles they get, how many

(05:45):
sacks they get.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Because you look at his sacks number, that doesn't really
blow away.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
He had three last year in a shortened year he
was hurt, and twenty twenty three he had five sacks.
In twenty twenty two he had seven and a half sacks,
twenty twenty one career year of nine sacks, which is
very good for a defensive tackle. But when you bring
in a defensive tackle, it's not really about the sack numbers.
It's not really even about the tackle numbers. It's about

(06:12):
how disruptive they can be to the offensive line, and
it's really about blowing up the offensive line. Maybe that
first guy misses, maybe the running back gets that first
defensive tackle to miss, and then other guys can come

(06:32):
in and take care of business. This guy is a
major disruptor and he's a big time talent that the
Vikings just signed, and he is going to help the
Vikings defense immensely, which the Vikings desperately needed. And you
see the Vikings being very intentional with their signings, and

(06:53):
you see the Vikings addressing areas of needs all over
their roster. Also, for the Vikings, this signing does not
mean that they have to give up any picks because
Jonathan Allen he was released by the Commanders earlier this offseason,

(07:15):
which means that he does not count against them in
the compensatory formula with high comp picks on the line.
So the Vikings get Jonathan Allen without having to give
up anything in return to the Washington Commanders, which is

(07:37):
a very exciting thing. Three year, sixty million dollar contract,
and Brian Flores gets another shiny toy defensively that he
can use. And the Vikings lost Cam Binen. Harrison Smith
will see what happens to him in these next few

(07:59):
weeks if he's going to retire or sign with another team,
or the Vikings cut him, or the Vikings keep him
for another year. But the Vikings secondary it's going to
look different because of the guys that they signed. Viron
Murphy Junior stays, but the Rogers new cornerback Theo Jackson

(08:21):
will presumably be the starting safety safety in replacement of
Cam Binam and now Jonathan Taylor. Jonathan Taylor. I call
why am I calling Jonathan Taylor for Jonathan Allen three years,
sixty million dollar contract.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
They think about that.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
Front seven front eight, Blake Cashman, Ivy Pace Junior, Andrew
Van Giegle, Jonathan Grenard, Jonathan Allen. That's a very solid
front six seven eight that can disrupt the other team
without necessarily having to apply more pressure than needed from

(09:03):
the secondary. So this move is going to enhance the
Vikings ability to force other teams to struggle offensively without
needing to send the house. Then that's my biggest observation
from the Vikings signing Jonathan Allen. So it's a very

(09:24):
exciting day. I'm sure there'll be plenty more moves because
things still need to be decided between you know, Daniel Jones,
who are the Vikings going to sign us backup quarterback
because Nick Mullen signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. So there's
things that need to be decided in these during this

(09:45):
period of NFL free agency and the Minnesota Vikings they
need to make some moves and they need to make
some decisions, whether that's Daniel Jones or Aaron Rodgers, it'll
be interest. Hey, you're one more stat on Jonathan Allen.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings did not have

(10:07):
an interior defensive lineman record twenty or more pressures in
twenty twenty four. So this was a major area of
need for the Vikings and they addressed it.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
So it's a big deal and.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Jonathan Allen is in Minnesota for these next few years.
Great signing by Quessi and the Minnesota Vikings organization got
stronger this morning. Thank you for watching this Quick Reaction
podcast and thank you for making this podcast part of
your day.