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Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen in 2023.
Sometimes in the NFL, executives just like to get “their guys” around them — players they’ve developed relationships with over the years.
Maybe that was why Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters essentially swapped out one high producing, highly paid defensive tackle in Jonathan Allen for a low producing, highly paid defensive tackle in Javon Kinlaw this offseason.
Or maybe it was just that Allen no longer wanted to play for the Commanders.
Either way, Allen is with the Minnesota Vikings now on a 3-year, $51 million contract and Kinlaw is with the Commanders on a 3-year, $45 million contract he signed on March 10, reuniting him with Peters from their time on the San Francisco 49ers.
ESPN called out the decision to let Allen go — he was released on March 16 to clear $16.9 million in salary cap space — and signing Kinlaw as 2 of the NFL’s worst offseason moves headed into 2025.
“Signing Kinlaw to a three-year deal averaging $15 million per year with $30 million fully guaranteed was a head-scratcher,” ESPN’s Seth Walder wrote on July 10. “Kinlaw has largely disappointed since being drafted in the first round in 2020; even with Kinlaw having a career season in 2024 this is a clear overpay … paying Kinlaw this much to replace (Allen) doesn’t make sense.”
Allen Had Played Entire Career With Commanders
Allen is a 2-time Pro Bowler who has played his entire career with the Commanders, who selected him in the first round (No. 17 overall) of the 2017 NFL draft after an All-American career at Alabama. Washington released Allen on March 17 and cleared $16.35 million in salary cap space, as he was headed into the final season of the 4-year, $72 million contract extension he signed in July 2021.
The Commanders wasted little time finding a replacement for Allen with Kinlaw.
It’s unfortunate for Allen that the Commanders finally became a contender almost a decade into his career, because he’s arguably been one of the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen for the last decade on some truly awful teams.
Commanders Mostly Terrible During Allen’s Tenure
Take into account the only season before 2024 that Allen played in the postseason was in 2020, when the Commanders backed into the playoffs with a 7-9 record and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round. Washington’s 12-5 record in 2024 was the first winning season with Allen on the roster.
Allen made consecutive Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022 — a stretch in which he had 127 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 36 TFL and 47 QB hits. Allen signed a 4-year, $72 million contract extension before the 2021 season and his new contract with the Vikings will bring his career earnings to approximately $128 million.
Before Allen’s release, the Commanders had $162 million in contracts wrapped up in 2 defensive tackles with Allen and 2018 first round pick Daron Payne, who signed a 4-year, $90 million contract extension in March 2023.
That was an unsustainable number, although adding Kinlaw for the amount they did defies logic as well.
Another factor for the Commanders that doesn’t make sense is they spent a second round pick (No. 36 overall) on defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton in the 2024 NFL draft. Newton flashed potential as a rookie despite dealing with a preseason foot surgery and finished with 44 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 6 TFL and 7 QB hits in 16 games with 11 starts — mostly playing in place of Allen, who missed a career high 9 games with a torn pectoral muscle.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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