Jay Gruden and the Washington Redskins have officially made the decision that rookie defensive tackle Jonathan Allen will not come off of the Injured Reserve this season.
“I don’t think we’re going to do anything with Jonathan,” Gruden said at Monday’s press conference. “I think by the time he gets back out to practice and gets in shape, I think the season will be over. He’s in good shape, but I think in football shape is a little bit different and we’ll probably just get him ready for the OTAs.”
This move is the right one. For once, the organization got a move right. It would not make any sense to bring Allen back with only two weeks left to play. Now, if there was several more weeks left in the season and the Redskins were in playoff contention then this decision would likely be different.
In October, Ian Rapoport reported that Allen would have surgery for the Lisfranc injury he suffered in Week 6.
The 17th overall pick in this years NFL draft, Allen had 10 tackles and always was around the football. Allen was a force on the defensive line for Washington but once he went down for the season the energy on the defensive side of the ball also went down.
Defensively the team has taken not just small steps backwards, but big steps backwards. Currently at 6-8 overall with two games left, the Redskins are hoping to finish the season off on a high note.
Take a look at some of the games Washington has lost this season … 38-30 loss to Minnesota, 34-31 loss to New Orleans and then the two blowouts by Dallas in Week 13 and the Chargers in Week 14 — if there was a healthy defense in those games, some of those outcomes would likely be different.
Coming out of Alabama in his rookie season, the one question that lingered was if Allen could stay healthy for an entire pro season. As of now that answer is no, but with some work in the off-season expect a healthier Allen for 2018.
Another rookie who needs some reps this off-season is Montae Nicholson. Nicholson is still under concussion protocol for the Redskins and it is unclear when he will be back on the field for Washington this season. Like the situation with Allen, it may be best for Nicholson to be shut down as well for the remainder of the season.
In other news:
The Los Angeles Chargers claimed former Redskins’ kicker Nick Rose off waivers.
Rose made 10-of-11 field goals and 18-of-20 extra points in eight games for Washington this season.
