Today in NFL news that you totally expected, reports have come out that Jared Allen is now a Carolina Panther. Wait what?
Scoopage: The Panthers have just agreed to a trade for Bears DE Jared Allen
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) September 28, 2015
Of course Jay Glazer would tweet the word scoopage.
Yup, that’s right, Jared Allen is now a Panther. The Chicago Bears have reportedly traded him for a draft pick because why not. Well, it makes some sense.
The Bears under John Fox have switched to a 3-4 defense, and Allen has been playing the DE/OLB hybrid that the 3-4 calls for on the outside. This was a terrible fit for Allen, who has spent a long and productive career as a 4-3 DE and doesn’t have the speed anymore to play linebacker at all. Allen is on the tail end of his career at this point and the fact that he’s even still playing might surprise some people. He hasn’t had a single sack yet and the Bears are looking to be fighting for the highest draft pick, so with that and the scheme mismatch they decided to jettison the veteran to whoever was willing.
Allen goes from an 0-3 Bears team to a 3-0 Panthers team; although, the Panthers haven’t exactly looked like the world beaters who might fit the record. Carolina has been doing just fine on defense, sacking quarterbacks seven times already, but they’re still missing a spot on the D-line thanks to the absence of Greg Hardy. I doubt anyone expects Allen to fill those shoes at this age though. He will, however, have a chance to add whatever is left to the stout Panther D. The Bears will get a sixth-round draft pick in return.
Allen is currently No. 9 in league history with 134 sacks at 33 years of age. This is his fourth team. He spent his younger years in KC and then gained league-wide fame in Minnesota. Last year he signed a three-year deal with the Bears, but then the Bears went belly up and are now rebuilding. This may not have been the best move by the Bears however, as Jared Allen is probably a better QB than Jimmy Clausen.
