When the San Francisco 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders last week, a report later surfaced that defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was mentioned in the trade discussions.
Not even a week later, the Commanders released Allen. Washington saves $15.6 million toward the 2025 salary cap by moving on from Allen.
In 2024, Allen only played 283 snaps in 2024 after tearing his pectoral muscle in Week 6. He did return to the field for the final two weeks of the season. Allen, who just turned 30, had not missed more than one game before this season since his rookie year in 2017. So, availability isn’t an issue.
Allen finished 32nd in winning percentage among all interior defensive linemen. Per PFF, Allen finished tied for 18th in pass-rushing productivity. When Allen was healthy in 2023, he finished 17th in pass rush win rate. He also plays hard and was known as a run defender more than getting after the passer throughout the years.
The Niners need beef up front. Allen can play multiple spots at 294 pounds. You do wonder what the price would be for the former first-rounder coming off an injury after a lengthy history of being a productive player. We don’t have to guess whether the 49ers have an interest in Allen. The question is whether they can afford or are willing to get into a bidding war.
Javon Hargrave is officially out of the door once the new league year begins. There’s a gaping hole at defensive tackle on a team that was woeful against the run in 2023. Allen and the next player we’re going to talk about would plug a much-needed roster spot that we feel is the number one need on the team.
Heading into free agency, the depth at defensive tackle consists of Maliek Collins, Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, Evan Anderson, Khalil Davis, and Kalia Davis. That is one starter and a group of players who should be playing around 15-20 snaps a game.