The Vikings didn’t let Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen leave Minnesota without a contract.
Allen, a 30-year-old former Washington Commanders starter, agreed to terms Tuesday, the team announced. The contract came together in the early morning Tuesday, according to a league source, during Allen’s free-agent visit to the team’s Eagan headquarters.
The Vikings and Allen agreed to a three-year deal with a base value of $51 million that includes over $23 million guaranteed at signing, according to NFLPA salary data. He can earn another $10.5 million through incentives.
The $17 million annual average is a hefty payday for a ninth-year defender, but Allen fills a need in the middle of a Vikings defensive line that hasn’t garnered much attention from the current front office until now.
Allen made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022, a two-year span in which he amassed 26 tackles for losses and 16.5 sacks.
He’ll boost a Vikings pass rush that has been productive and blitz-happy under coordinator Brian Flores, ranking tied for fourth last year with 49 sacks.
But Flores hasn’t had an interior rusher like this in Minnesota. Allen averaged 46 quarterback pressures annually, according to Pro Football Focus, over a six-year span. The last Vikings interior defender with at least 40 QB pressures in a season was Sheldon Richardson in 2018.
Allen, a 2017 first-round pick out of Alabama, is already familiar with three Vikings coaches — coach Kevin O’Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio — who spent time on Washington’s staff.