Washington shockingly won the NFC East last season thanks to the strength of its young defense, and now the Football Team locked up a key member of that defense. The team reached agreement on a four-year extension worth a whopping $72M with defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, his agency Team IFA announced on Twitter.
Per his agents, the deal comes with a massive $30M signing bonus. We heard in early June that the two sides 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 $18M 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.
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