Jared Allen hinted that he won't be back with the Minnesota Vikings next season in an interview with USA Today's Tom Pelisero. Allen, 31, is in the final year of a six-year, $73 million contract, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2013 season. Though he is approaching retirement age, Allen said that he has "years left in me."
Jared Allen hints he won’t be with the Vikings next season
Allen seemed resigned to the fact that he won’t be playing with the Vikings next season during an interview with USA Today.
Michael Steele
Allen also said that he wants to win a championship, something the Vikings don’t appear set up to do any time in the near future:
“To be real honest, I’m going to have to look at the situation of the team,” Allen, the veteran defensive end whose contract expires in March, told USA TODAY Sports. “If I continue to play, you want to try to win a championship at some point. Personal accolades can only go so far.”
Trade rumors swirled around Allen at the NFL's Oct. 29 trade deadline. Allen was reportedly open to a deal that could have landed him on a Super Bowl contending roster and given the struggling Vikings much needed draft picks to speed the rebuilding process. The Seattle Seahawks were reportedly suitors, but they backed out of the courtship process late, and Allen was still in Minnesota when the deadline passed.
Assuming Allen hits the free-agent market, his advancing age could be a concern to potential teams. He will be younger than John Abraham and Dwight Freeney were when they signed healthy two-year contracts last offseason as veteran defensive ends, but his declined production this season is notable. Allen has five sacks through 10 games this season, putting him on pace to record less than 11 sacks for the first time since 2006.
Pelisero spoke with one NFL executive, who pegged Allen's value on the free agent market between $9 million and $11 million per season. Another executive was more modest, saying Allen's contract would likely follow the guidelines of Elvis Dumervil's five-year, $26 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens.
Wherever Allen ends up, he promised to eventually return to Minnesota:
“Wherever I go, when I retire, I’m going to call [the Vikings] and say, ‘Hey, let me sign a one-day contract,” Allen said. “Minnesota will always be in my heart. But I don’t know what the future holds. We haven’t talked about it. I’m trying not to think about it.”
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