The Washington Commanders haven't shied away from overhauling the roster during the Dan Quinn era. That includes trading away a former first-round pick, such as Jahan Dotson, before final cuts.
Could a much bigger, well-established name be next?
Stellar defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was a name just brought up by Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, who has Allen getting traded to the Houston Texans as one of his bold trade predictions for 2024:
“From the Commanders perspective, the biggest goal right now is to put the best offense on the field with Jayden Daniels. They paid Daron Payne this offseason and drafted Jer'Zhan Newton in the second round of this draft.”
While trading away a player as elite as Allen won’t be popular with fans, it’s something that might be on the table. A report last May from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler featured some anonymous personnel around the league wondering if the Commanders might move him.
Reason being, Allen has two years left on his current contract, with the cap hit in 2025 jumping to $23 million. Now that he’s approaching the age of 30, he’ll want to talk shop on an extension sooner than later—and the Commaners have already heavily invested on the defensive line with Daron Payne’s four-year, $90 million deal.
That’s not to say the Commanders should run off and accept whatever a team like Houston offers. They have the benefit of constructing a rebuilding roster around a rookie quarterback contract for now and who knows, perhaps the Allen-Quinn fit is magic that makes it all tick.
But if the Commanders are struggling by next season’s trade deadline, fans can pretty much count on Allen’s name coming up again.
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