Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen is scheduled to become a free agent in March for the first time in his career.
While general manager Trent Baalke has guaranteed that won’t come to fruition, the path to retain the pass rusher could be rocky. Allen hopes the situation gets solved with a massive contract extension, but the good news for the Jaguars is that he’s not hoping to play anywhere else.
“Of course I want to be in Jacksonville,” Allen told Jamal St. Cyr of News4Jax during his time at the 2024 Pro Bowl Games. “You know, I have a chance to leave a legacy behind and, you know, that’s something I wanted to do. I wanted to be the best defensive player to come out of Jacksonville and that’s everywhere that I go.
“So I got the opportunity to finish what I started, but at the end of the day, I know what comes with the business side of it. So whatever plays out, plays out, but, you know, I’d love to be back.”
The likeliest scenario appears to be the franchise tag for Allen, which would guarantee him about $22 million next season. But that’d only be a temporary fix that could eventually lead to the pass rusher leaving as a free agent in 2025.
If Allen is tagged, the Jaguars would have until mid-July to agree to a long-term contract with their best defensive player. If no deal got done, it wouldn’t be surprising if Allen was a lengthy holdout from training camp and perhaps into the regular season, as well.
Of course, Jacksonville could avoid all that by reaching terms on an extension with Allen before the franchise tag deadline next month. It certainly wouldn’t be cheap, but the Jaguars have a homegrown star who loves wearing teal.
Allen, 26, is 10 sacks away from tying Tony Brackens for the most sacks in Jaguars history. His 17.5 sacks during the 2023 season were a franchise record.
