New Viking Feels Cheated
Before the 2024 season, the Washington Commanders maintained a pretty awful reputation — in general but also regarding player relations.
New Viking Feels Cheated
And it didn’t take long for new Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to confirm his former team’s stigma. Allen joined Minnesota via free agency one month ago after eight seasons in Washington.
According to Allen, the Vikings’ culture and facilities are so different and better than the Commanders’ that Allen feels “cheated” in hindsight.
Jonathan Allen’s Comments about Commanders
Allen spoke last week with former NFLer Chris Long on The Green Light Podcast and wasn’t shy about promoting the variance between Minnesota and Washington’s culture.
“I can’t state enough how great the culture has been, from how they treat their families to how they treat the players. I feel like I’ve been cheated my last eight years,” Allen candidly told Long.
He also made sure not to disparage his former franchise too vehemently, seeming to point at the previous ownership and front office regime prior to the 2024 upheaval.
Allen said, “The Commanders had a really great culture last year, and that was the hardest part about leaving. When I was going into free agency, I told myself that I wanted to choose a team that has an established culture.”
So, the fodder folks hear about bad mojo with the Commanders might’ve been true before new ownership took over.
“As you get older, the day-in and day-out work you put in your body is just as important as the film study and weight lifting. Just talking to these guys up here and how they get you to perform at your best when your best is needed — man, I love that,” Allen added about Minnesota’s accommodations.
A New at DT in Minnesota
For years, Vikings fans hoped the team would invest in an impactful defensive tackle from free agency or the draft. Those requests always fell on deaf ears — until this offseason.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah signed Allen, 30, to a three-year, $51 million deal last month and added fellow defensive tackle Javon Hargrave a few hours later for good measure.
In terms of defensive tackle personnel, Minnesota went from rags to riches in a single day and may not even be done adding DTs. The Vikings own the 24th pick in this month’s draft, which could be prime territory for an interior defensive lineman like Kenneth Grant, Derrick Harmon, or Walter Nolen.
The Vikings’ Reputation from the NFLPA
Minnesota ranked second leaguewide per the NFLPA’s annual report card, a grading system, authored by players, to adjudicate all teams’ treatment of players, families, facilities, accommodations, food, ownership, head coach, etc.
Since Adofo-Mensah and his head coach, Kevin O’Connell, took over, those report marks have remained in the NFL’s top two, so the culture and foundation are not accidental. Other new free agents, like Will Fries and Ryan Kelly, also recently pointed to the NFLPA report card as a tool used in their respective decision-making.
The report card matters.
Washington Not Hurting, Though
Let it be known, though, that the Commanders will be just fine without Allen. Washington fundamentally turned around everything about itself in one offseason, onboarding a new general manager, head coach, and quarterback in 2024.
The result? Allen and old pals reached the 2024 NFC Championship, losing to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, a team that later flogged the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
In fact, Washington scored highly on the aforementioned report card for last season, sans the “Locker Room” criteria, which fetched an “F.” The ownership received an “A,” the head coach an “A+.”
While Allen felt cheated, the Commanders have already fixed the problem’s source, at least per the report card and Washington’s NFC Championship appearance.
Allen Excited about MIN Defense
Allen spoke glowingly about Minnesota’s defense last month. “When you look at a guy like Coach Flores, man, they refer to him as a ‘mad scientist.’ Sometimes we’ll be in a 3-4, bringing pressure off both ends, and some games we’re switching it up,” he explained.
“Every week, being in that playbook’s a big key. But I really like how he’s able to create space on the inside and allow guys to get 1-on-1s. And when you get 1-on-1s in this NFL, you’ve gotta be able to win those. I’m looking forward to just fitting right in and doing what I can to help.”
Minnesota’s defense will start from a point of strength, as well — it ranked second in the NFL last season per EPA/Play.
Allen added in March, “I’m a firm believer in, it’s really hard to win games in this football league – I mean, if you look at it, it probably comes down to five plays a game. And I think culture’s a huge part of it; when those certain plays don’t go your way, how do you respond? It’s easy to turn one bad play into two or three bad plays, and that can be the difference in the game.”
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