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Why the 49ers Should Not Sign Jonathan Allen

In his prime, Allen was a terrific player. But there's a reason the Commanders just released him.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (93) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (93) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The Washington Commanders just released Jonathan Allen and the 49ers are expected to pursue him. This would be a big mistake. I'll explain.

The 49ers reportedly considered trading Deebo Samuel for Allen but ultimately decided to receive Washington's fifth-round pick instead. At the time, Allen had a contract that would have paid him $17 million in 2025. Now he's a free agent and the 49ers can offer him whatever contract they think he's worth.

Allen was a first-round pick in 2017 who went to back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022. In his prime, he was a terrific player. But there's a reason the Commanders just released him.

Allen just turned 30, and he missed nine games with a torn pectoral muscle last season. Which means he's an older player whose body is beginning to break down. And he's going to be expensive because free agent defensive tackles usually get paid lots of money.

This is the exact type of player the 49ers have been purging from their roster this offseason. They're releasing Javon Hargrave because he's old, expensive and he missed lots of games last season. Replacing him with Allen wouldn't make the 49ers any better.

Instead of signing Allen, the 49ers should draft a defensive tackle who fits their Wide 9 defensive front. Allen is 300 lbs. which means he is a bit too small to anchor against the double teams he would face.

Michigan's Kenneth Grant would be a much better acquisition.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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