Jonathan Allen‘s pectoral injury was once deemed season-ending, but the Commanders defensive lineman still hopes to return in 2024. According to ESPN’s John Keim, Allen “has not abandoned hope” that he can return this season.
The veteran suffered his pectoral injury in November, but there was good news during his subsequent surgery. While it was initially believed that Allen tore his muscle, Keim notes that doctors discovered that Allen’s pectoral muscle was only partially torn. While Allen eventually landed on IR, there was growing hope that he could return for the stretch run of the 2024 campaign. Keim adds that later checkups helped maintain optimism that Allen could play again this season.
In anticipation of a potential return, the defensive lineman has been working out at team facilities, hoping to return before the end of December. Keim writes that Allen would have to prove that he’s “regained all his strength” before he’d be allowed back on the field.
The 2017 first-round pick has spent his entire career in Washington, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods while transforming into one of the organization’s top defenders. After collecting 22 sacks and 22 QB hits between 2021 and 2023, Allen continued to produce in 2024, collecting a pair of sacks and six QB hits through six games. The 29-year-old is on the books through 2025 (although none of his 15.5M base salary for that year is guaranteed). The organization also invested in Daron Payne and used a pair of recent second-round picks (Phidarian Mathis, Jer’Zhan Newton), leading some teams to sniff around last offseason about a potential Allen trade.
With Allen out of the lineup, Mathis and Newton have split snaps playing next to Payne. Sheldon Day and Jalyn Holmes also saw an uptick in playing time when Allen went down with an injury. Mathis was a healthy scratch back in Week 13, so the team wouldn’t have any difficult decisions to make if Allen returns.