Jared Allen spent most of the offseason wondering why the Minnesota Vikings were not negotiating a contract extension with him. The 31-year old defensive end is playing out the final year of his contract, making $14.3 million. While many believed he would get an extension prior to the season starting, that turned out not to be the case. While the Vikings are signing other defensive players to extensions this week, Allen remains in flux.
The Vikings announced Wednesday they have signed defensive end Brian Robison to a new four-year, $28 million extension. Robison was also playing out the final year of his current contract and the Vikings decided they did not want him to even get the option to test out free agency. The defensive end was drafted by Minnesota back in 2007 and has 30 sacks and nine forced fumbles to his name, mainly playing as a rotational player, but getting a starting spot in 2011.
Robison has continued the success in 2013. He has one sack and 10 tackles through five games. Signing the veteran to an extension seems practical looking at his production on the field. However, it only fuels the speculation that Allen will not be back with the team in 2014.
Allen entered the 2013 season insisting he had no beefs with the Vikings after not getting a contract extension. He opted to focus on football and staying healthy after a 2012 season hampered by injuries.
"A lot of guys try to get more money before [the deal's up]. Hey, I signed a contract for six years. They signed a contract for six years. It's very, very rare when both sides honor that. A lot of guys get let go in the last year or restructure in the last year. A lot guys, . . . they play one good year and they want to re-up," Allen said, via ESPN.com. "For me, this is the commitment I made - let me honor that. They want to honor it. So, that's great. For me, I've got no beefs, no quarrels, no nothing with it."
With Robison's extension on the books, the chances that the Vikings have the salary cap space to give Allen a contract he will likely demand is not good. Allen has been quoted saying he is not thrilled at the idea that Minnesota would want him to take a pay cut with his next deal. However, after having hamstring and shoulder issues in recent years, Allen is not going to get as big a contract as Robison did.
The Vikings now have Robison signed for next season. They gave Sharrif Floyd a big extension. Everson Griffen is proving to be a nice up-and-coming rusher. Minnesota appears comfortable with letting Allen dip his toes into the free agency pool and see what he is worth.
