Six weeks after their playoff run ended with a loss to eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia, the Washington Commanders parted ways with one of their defensive leaders and brought back another.
Jonathan Allen was released Friday, ending the standout defensive tackle’s time with the team that drafted him after eight seasons. The Commanders also made official their one-year contract with six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner after agreeing to terms with him on Thursday.
Cutting ties with Allen was not a surprise, coming less than two weeks since they gave Allen’s camp permission to talk to other teams around the NFL about a potential trade. There was no guaranteed money owed to the 30-year-old veteran going into the final season of his contract, which made him a candidate to be released to save the Commanders roughly $20 million against the salary cap.
“He’s somebody, a true professional — somebody that obviously we respect a lot," Wagner said. "I wasn’t here all the years, but I know what he’s meant to the city and what he’s done for this team through the good and the bad years. I’m excited for the opportunity that he gets to continue his career, and I know he’s going to continue to do special things.”
Drafted in the first round out of Alabama in 2017, Allen was the second-longest-tenured player in the organization after punter Tress Way.
Allen missed half of last season after tearing a pectoral muscle but returned for Washington’s final four games, including the playoffs. The Commanders reached the NFC title game before losing to eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia.
Since debuting eight years ago, Allen has appeared in 108 games for Washington, making 401 tackles and recording 42 sacks. That sack total ranks fifth in franchise history since it became an official stat in 1982.
Wagner put pen to paper on his contract, worth up to $9.5 million with $8 million guaranteed, at the team's practice facility in Ashburn, Virginia, on Friday afternoon. He said he never got time to consider going anywhere else.
“I just love what we’re building here," Wagner said. "I love the team. I feel like this is the place. You always want to be in a place where they want you to be here and they accept you, and I think we’ve got unfinished business to do.”
Wagner, who turns 35 a month before training camp opens, grew close with Jayden Daniels during his Offensive Rookie of the Year and said he texted the franchise quarterback immediately after agreeing to the contract.
It has already been a busy offseason for the Commanders, who last weekend reached an agreement to acquire wide receiver Deebo Samuel from San Francisco for a 2025 fifth-round pick.
“I think it was amazing," said Wagner, who was in Samuel's division and faced the 49ers twice a season during his many years with Seattle and one with the Los Angeles Rams. "We got to play on the other side of the spectrum watching him perform at a high level all those year that we had to go back and forth. Being his teammate, I’m excited. I’m excited to play with him, and it’s going to be fun, man. I look forward to what he brings to our team.”
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