Washington Commanders release
defensive tackle Jonathan Allen
[March 08, 2025]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
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.
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Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (93) during a
NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Jan. 5,
2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)
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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