Now eligible, ex-Vikings DE Jared Allen expects last stop to be Canton
By CHRIS TOMASSON | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: September 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m
Five years after his last calf-roping sack dance, Jared Allen is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The former Vikings defensive end who retired after the 2015 season could be elected as soon as next February. While Allen said he tries “not to be a self-promoter,’’ he considers himself worthy of the Canton, Ohio, shrine.
“I think my career speaks for itself,” Allen said in a phone interview. “I think the writing’s on the wall and absolutely I think I competed at a level that’s hall-of-fame caliber.”
Allen played in Minnesota from 2008-13, making four of his five Pro Bowls and earning three of his four first-team all-pro nods with the Vikings. He is 12th in NFL history with 136 sacks, including 85½ with Minnesota.
“I think my stats are my stats,” Allen said. “When I played, no one had more sacks than me. I got a text the other day that I was one of the top five for fastest sacks to 100. Everybody that’s above me or (just) below me on the list is in the hall of fame, so I think the body of work speaks for itself.”
Of the top 17 players in NFL history in sacks, 11 are in the hall of fame. Three — Julius Peppers, DeMarcus Ware and Terrell Suggs — are not yet eligible.
But will Allen be a first-ballot selection? With quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive back Charles Woodson and wide receiver Calvin Johnson eligible for the first time, Allen faces competition. The maximum number of modern-era players that can be selected each year is five.
“I joke that I don’t really care when I get in, but if I have to be an asterisk to Peyton Manning’s class, I’m good with that,” Allen said. “I would love to be a first-ballot hall of famer, but I won’t be the one griping and complaining if it doesn’t happen.”
Spoiler!
Following a vote by the hall of fame selection committee, the class of 2021 will be announced Feb. 6 in Tampa, the eve of Super Bowl LV. While Allen might not complain if his name isn’t called then, he hopes the wait won’t be too long.
“It would be one of the greatest honors of my career,” said Allen, who lives with his family in Nashville, Tenn. “It’s the pinnacle obviously of every individual honor to be so immortalized in Canton.”
Allen was selected by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 2004 draft had a breakout season in 2007, when he made led the NFL with 15½ sacks and was named all-pro. But Allen, who had three arrests for driving under the influence in Kansas City, was not signed to a long-term extension.
The Vikings took a chance on Allen and acquired him in a trade. He was signed to a six-year, $73.5 million contract, the richest at the time for a defensive player. He was able to get his personal life in order and continued to excel on the field.
“I think I held my part of the bargain in the contract,’’ Allen said.
Allen had 11 or more sacks in each of his six Minnesota seasons, including 22 in 2011. That remains tied for the second-most in NFL history behind the 22½ that Michael Strahan had with the New York Giants in 2001.
“He put up some crazy numbers when you look at it,” said Brian Robison, a Vikings defensive end from 2007-17. “At the end of the day, he’s definitely a hall of famer. Whether it’s first ballot or second ballot or whatever, that really comes down to the voters. But in my mind I think he’s 100 percent deserving to go into the hall of fame (in 2021).”
With the Vikings rebuilding, Allen did not re-sign after the 2013 season. He said he had his retirement letter written before Chicago signed him to a four-year, $32 million deal in March 2014. He played less than two seasons with the Bears and the last half of the 2015 season with Carolina. His final game was the Panthers’ 24-10 loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50.
Allen hopes to be joined in the hall of fame by defensive tackle Kevin Williams, a friend and former teammate in Minnesota, where Williams played from 2003-13. Williams, who finished his career with New Orleans in 2015 and also is eligible for the first time, told the Pioneer Press last December he deserves to be enshrined.
Williams also considers Allen hall of fame worthy.
“He was almost impossible to stop,” Williams said. “He played the game at a high level and he had a high motor and it paid off for him.”
Allen also hopes one day to be in the Vikings Ring of Honor. But that would have to wait at least a year since the Vikings have not announced any inductees for this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s hard for me to sit here and brag about my own career because I think if you do it right, everybody else will do the bragging for you,’’ Allen said. “But do I think I’ll be in the Ring of Honor? Yes. I would have loved to have finished my career in Minnesota, and been there for 10 years and hold every record in that building, but the body of work I put up in six years was pretty good.”
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
There is always exceptions :-) Barry and TG played in 6-7playoff games while CJ only played in 2.
You’re entitled to your opinion, I just feel it’s a bit unfair. I could see penalizing a guy for not playing well in big moments, but postseason games and success are largely a team accolade, like SB wins for QBs.
The aforementioned Barry Sanders and Tony Gonzalez are great examples of guys who were clearly all-timers who just wasted their careers on garbage franchises. Terrell Davis and Marshawn Lynch are great examples of the opposite. Neither of the two should be HoF backs, but they probably both will be.
Will Shields is another great example. Dude was incredible for a long, long time, but had next to no postseason games played because his talent was wasted on trash teams and he’s only a guard. How much impact on a game overall can a guard really have? [Reply]
I think Jared Allen is going to make it, but not as a first ballot guy. Maybe not even a 2nd. I kind of see him as a "third time's the charm" kind of guy. [Reply]
