Jared Allen has told the Vikings he won't be coming back next season, which should come as no surprise given the team's commitment to Brian Robison and Everson Griffen as well as a general philosophy of moving toward youth.

Before Allen is officially gone, however, let's take one last quick moment to remember this: His six seasons in purple were not perfect -- no player is perfect -- but particularly given the massive expectations after the Vikings gave up a draft haul in a trade and signed him to a huge contract, Allen was everything advertised.

He had 85.5 sacks in six years here, which works out to roughly 14 per season and almost one per game. He played all 16 games every season here, which also should not be overlooked. He was a heart and soul guy when it came to getting the home crowd fired up, and from what we could see he was also a good teammate in the locker room.

Allen arrived at the perfect time, when a team looking to take the next step on defense was desperate for an impact pass rusher. He is leaving at the perfect time -- still productive, so he will get another contract, but just not the right fit anymore.

In short, Allen's six-year run with the Vikings was about as good as it could have been, with the exception of course of the team falling short of the ultimate elusive Super Bowl goal. He will be missed, and his level of achievement should not be forgotten.