Bengals Land Jonathan Allen on Two-Year, $28 Million Deal

The Cincinnati Bengals came into the offseason with a few big holes on their roster, most of them being on the defensive side of the ball. But it didn’t take long for the front office to make a pair of moves to bolster the roster. They added Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe and Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook in a pair of deals that pushed the defense in the right direction.

On Thursday, after a few quiet days, the Bengals took another swing, this time agreeing to a two-year, $28 million deal with Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

This move works to bolster the run defense for the Bengals. Their run defense was the worst unit in the league last season, but adding Allen provides a solid boost. He had 68 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks last season for the Vikings.

But is this the best move the Bengals could have made?

Grading Bengals $28 Million Deal With Jonathan Allen

Grade: C-

This feels like a bit of a reach. There are a few good things and a few bad things with the deal.

First, the good. Allen has been a captain on multiple occasions in his NFL tenure. He’s been nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. As a person and a leader, he was one of the best options on the board. He’s also going to fill one of the bigger holes on the team at defensive tackle.

But Allen is getting older and has struggled to keep his production at the same level since turning 30 years old. He has not posted a season-long Pro Football Focus grade above 60 in the past three campaigns and posted 34 and 26 QB pressures over the past two seasons. Prior to that, he’d posted four consecutive seasons with at least 45 pressures. The biggest downside to this deal is the money.

Paying Allen $28 million over two years puts him on par with defensive tackles like Cameron Heyward, Grover Stewart, and Javon Kinlaw. It’s a lot of money to give Allen, but given the Bengals desperation at this point, it seems like they may have had to overpay to land a defensive tackle with the potential to make an impact.

The Bengals would have been better off giving less money to Javon Hargrave.

Still, adding to a position of need is an exciting move, especially considering how quiet the Bengals have been for the last few days.

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