Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, and a sprinkling of other stuff
Jonathan Allen credited the Commanders for doing him a favor.
The Commanders did right by Allen, cutting ties just before the legal tampering window. This gave the Alabama graduate a head start on negotiations and choosing his next destination rather than being forced somewhere he might not have wanted to go.
Allen wasn’t out of employment for long, signing a three-year, $51 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings that included a $14 million signing bonus and $31.25 million guaranteed. That represents a fantastic payday considering his performance levels over the last two years.
Allen got brutally honest when speaking about his Commanders’ departure during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. He acknowledged that he’d fallen out of favor, and there was nothing he could do about it. However, the interior force praised those in power for handling his departure with complete class and respect.
“I mean, in the NFL, it’s very hard to play your entire career on one team. The new regime came in, they had a path that they wanted to follow and I wasn’t a part of that. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit for doing me a favor by releasing me when they did, but things just didn’t work out for whatever reason. Super, super excited to be on a new team and reunite with coach [Kevin] O’Connell.”
Jonathan Allen
This was the right way to handle things. It’s another example of the raised professionalism in the Commanders’ front office these days. Had this been the previous regime under the previous owner, things (probably) would have been different.
Jayden Daniels is awesome. I’m not disagreeing with that assessment. I am, however, highly concerned about the abundance of red flags signaling an upcoming regression for Washington. For starters, the Commanders finished 12-5 last year despite a +94 point differential, which is more indicative of a 10.6-win team. Second, Washington went 8-4 in one-score games. Those are two metrics which demonstrate how Dan Quinn’s team performed above expectation in 2024. Throw in a defense that ranked 19th in EPA, a much tougher schedule this season that features crossovers with the AFC West and NFC North and a unit that concluded 2024 as the fifth-healthiest team in the NFL and you’ve got plenty of reasons to suspect a regression for the Commanders in 2025.
Mike Clay’s projection: 8.2 wins
The panic meter ranges from one...
