When Josh Allen broke the Jacksonville Jaguars’ single-season franchise record for sacks Sunday, he didn’t snatch it away from a player sad to see it go. In fact, Allen said he got a text from the former record-holder, Calais Campbell, telling him to “go break the record.”
Allen, 26, wants to do the same thing when his record — which now stands at 16.5 sacks with one game left to play — eventually falls.
“Records are meant to be broken, I can’t wait for somebody to break my record,” Allen said after the Jaguars’ 26-0 win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. “I had a record in college. They broke that record. And I believe [Travon Walker] will break this record.”
With two sacks against the Panthers, Walker got to nine sacks on the year. While he’d have to just about double that effort to take the record, Walker’s upward trajectory has to be encouraging for the Jaguars.
In the meantime, Allen will enjoy his time atop the franchise leaderboard.
“For me to be in the history books, it’s a huge — I’m a legacy type of guy, I want to leave a legacy everywhere I go,” Allen said. “This is a huge accomplishment for myself, the team and for my family as well. Man, I didn’t do it by myself, first and foremost. So shout-out to everybody who was a part of it.”
Allen is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract and is set to become a free agent in the offseason. It seems highly unlikely that comes to fruition, though. If the Jaguars can’t lock down the pass rusher with an extension, the team will likely use the franchise tag to retain him for at least one more season.
Regardless, Allen’s massive season couldn’t come at a better time for the 2019 top 10 draft pick.
