Cincinnati Bengals
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The Cincinnati Bengals received a harsh grade for their signing of Jonathan Allen
As soon as the 2025 season ended,reports surfaced that the Cincinnati Bengals were planning on being aggressive in free agency. Their primary focus was likely going to be on improving their defense, whichfinished 31st in total defense.
After the first few days of free agency, the reports proved to be accurate. Despite losing All-Pro pass rusherTrey Hendrickson to the division rival Baltimore Ravens, the team has made significant additions to their defense. The most recent one was signing two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jonathan Allen to a two-year, $26 million contract.
However, one analyst does not see that signing as good news for Cincinnati as he gave the Bengals a harsh grade for the transaction.
Cincinnati Bengals Panned on Jonathan Allen Signing
Despite his Pro Bowl experience, Allen is 31 years old and has shown signs of decline.Sports Illustrated’s Russell Heltman wrote, “The former Viking and Commander has played great football for much of his career, but he tailed off a bit in the past few seasons. Age is a concern at 31 years old.”
ESPN’s Seth Walder does not believe the Bengals signing Allen is an impactful move, as he gave the team a ‘D’ grade for the addition. He wrote, “A year ago, I handed the Vikings a D+ for signing Allen to an expensive contract shortly after he had been cut by the Commanders, a deal that called for him to make $16.2 million in 2025 and fully guaranteed $8 million of his $17 million in cash due in 2026. Now this year, the Vikings cut Allen after a lackluster first season in Minnesota, and the Bengals are going to pick up some of the tab and then some.
Allen’s numbers last season were not great: 3.5 sacks, a 32nd percentile pass rush win rate at defensive tackle (despite being double-teamed at a lower-than-average rate) and a 24th percentile run stop win rate.”
Jonathan Allen’s Production
Despite this, Walder did offer some optimism as to why the move could potentially work. He added, “There have been criticisms levied that Brian Flores’ system does not lend itself to pass-rushing production from defensive tackles, and it’s possible that hurt Allen’s numbers.” Unfortunately, Walder was also concerned about Allen’s lack of productivity in Washington as he said, “But that would not explain Allen’s lack of production (three sacks, 13th percentile pass rush win rate) in eight games in 2024 for the Commanders.”
Ultimately, he gave his final thoughts on the signing, saying, “Allen was a very good defensive tackle earlier in his career. But the numbers clearly paint a picture of a 31-year-old player who is well into his decline. And I think the Bengals are overpaying him based on what he did several years ago.”
Pro Football Focus seemed to agreewith Walder’s sentiment as they wrote, “Allen’s PFF grade over the past three seasons has been below 60.0, but has been driven by his struggled against the run. Despite slowing down a bit as a pass-rusher, he still earned a 64.9 PFF pass-rush grade last year, which ranked 47th out of the 113 interior defenders with 300 or more snaps in 2025. The problem is that it’s a lot of money for someone who is on the downside of their career and is likely best suited to a rotational role that keeps him fresh to rush the passer.” They gave the signing a below-average grade.