The important thing to remember when we see an NFL team has given permission to any particular player on its roster to “seek out a trade” is that in no case, ever, do NFL teams want to cede control of any aspect of their roster. Just doesn’t happen.
So, when a player gets that kind of permission from his team, it usually just means the team has reached the point where they’ve already made a pretty unmovable decision — most centrally they’re no longer willing to pay his salary and have enough respect for the player to allow them to try and find someone who will.
That’s what Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen will try to do over the next few weeks after ESPN’s John Keim reported the franchise will let him seek a trade partner — someone willing to pay his massive salary in 2025.
“Allen, a two-time Pro Bowler, has a cap hit of $22.3 million,” Keim wrote on February 25. “Washington would save $16.3 million in cap space whether he is traded or released before June 1. Seattle had inquired about Allen before the 2023 trade deadline, according to multiple sources, but with a new coaching staff it’s uncertain if the Seahawks would remain interested. Allen has a base salary of $15.5 million, though none of it is guaranteed.”
While Allen’s salary will probably scare some teams away, if the Commanders are willing to take a mid to low round draft pick in exchange for Allen there’s a tremendous upside to bringing in the 2-time Pro Bowler.
Chargers Have Cap Space, Pressing Need at DT
The upside to bringing in Allen via trade — as long as they don’t give up too much in return — seems to make the Los Angeles Chargers the best fit for the former first round pick.
The Chargers went 11-6 in 2024 and made the playoffs under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh but need an anchor for their interior defensive line. That’s the kind of gravitas Allen brings in and if he does so and the Chargers make it back to the playoffs — which they likely will — he’d be worth it. If the Chargers somehow win a playoff game with Allen on the field, you can make the argument they’ve come out ahead.
And perhaps the most important part for the Chargers? Bringing in Allen requires no long term commitment — 2025 is the final season of the 4-year, $72 million contract extension he signed in July 2021 and the Chargers have an estimated $70 million in salary cap space.
Commanders Seem Flush on Interior Defensive Line
Allen’s contract and the contracts for the Commanders on the interior defensive line represent the last vestiges of the old ownership regime under Dan Snyder.
The Commanders currently have $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’s an exorbitant, untenable number for any team at that position.
The signs were already pointing toward Allen’s exit when the Commanders drafted defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft. Newton seemed more than up to the task as a rookie in Allen’s extended absence as he missed 9 games with a torn pectoral muscle, making 11 starts in 16 games with 44 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 6 TFL, 7 Qb hits
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