The Washington Commanders’ defensive line, once one of its deeper positional groups, is now depleted and without one of its star veterans. Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen tore his left pectoral muscle in the team’s 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, will miss the rest of the season and probably will undergo surgery, Coach Dan Quinn said Monday afternoon. Allen underwent an MRI exam earlier Monday and plans to seek a second opinion, a person with knowledge of the injury added.
The team is also awaiting more information on defensive ends Dorance Armstrong, who left the game early with a rib or oblique injury, and Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who suffered an ankle injury.
“We’ll have a better sense for where they are in the days ahead,” Quinn said of the two ends, “but definitely was a hard afternoon on the D-line on some injuries.”
The loss of Allen is a significant blow to a defense that showed progress in recent weeks before a rough showing Sunday. A staple on the Commanders’ line and one of the team’s longest-tenured players, Allen went down late in the third quarter during Derrick Henry’s seven-yard touchdown run and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Allen took on a block by left guard Patrick Mekari and fell backward before grabbing his left pectoral muscle and writhing in pain.
The play on which Jonathan Allen was injured in the 3Q. pic.twitter.com/jGz83YzUwR
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) October 14, 2024
“Jon Allen has obviously been a staple player here and [has] the play style and the attitude,” Quinn said. “We’re really bummed for him, as the man and the ballplayer.”
There are long-term considerations about Allen’s future, too: He will turn 30 in January, and after this season he has one year remaining on his contract, with a $23 million salary cap charge. His $15.5 million salary for 2025 is not guaranteed, so the Commanders would save $17 million against the cap if they moved on from him once healthy.
An Ashburn native and former Alabama standout, Allen was drafted by Washington with the 17th pick in 2017 and has started all but three games since 2018. He has been one of the league’s top defensive tackles in recent years, earning consecutive Pro Bowl nods after signing a four-year, $72 million contract extension in 2021 and serving as half of Washington’s formidable duo inside with Daron Payne.
Allen’s 41 career sacks are the sixth most in franchise history — he needs only one more to pass Ken Harvey for fifth on the all-time list — while his 59 tackles for losses rank second, behind former defensive end and current assistant linebackers coach Ryan Kerrigan (116).
For much of this season, Allen and Payne have struggled to create as much disruption up front as they have in recent years. Allen registered a sack apiece in wins over the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns, but he has only six quarterback hits in six games. Payne was credited with half a sack against Arizona and has only two quarterback hits. He played 43 snaps in Baltimore but did not appear on the stat sheet.
Filling the void up front will be a challenge.
“It’ll be a multitude of people and roles and how we can feature guys to do that because Jon’s rare and he’s got unique skills and talent, so it’s not just plug and play,” Quinn said. “The good news is we got a big, deep crew and we’ll feature all of them a little bit differently in finding the ways that we can do that.”
Washington has slowly worked in second-round rookie tackle Johnny Newton after he missed the entire preseason because of foot surgery — his second foot procedure since January. He played 37 of the team’s 63 defensive snaps in Baltimore and may start in place of Allen inside, but as Quinn noted, accounting for Allen’s full skill set will require the help of others, too. The team also has 2022 second-round pick Phidarian Mathis in reserve as well as Efe Obada, who returned Sunday after missing significant time because of a leg injury suffered last season. Although he’s listed as a defensive end, Obada played snaps at tackle in Washington’s defense under former coordinator Jack Del Rio.
For reinforcements, the Commanders may turn to practice squad players Sheldon Day and Haggai Ndubuisi on the interior and Andre Jones Jr. at end should Armstrong or Jean-Baptiste miss time. (Quinn said he expects to know more in the coming days as the two undergo further testing on their injuries.) Washington also could scour the free agent market or other teams’ practice squads for outside help. But options there will be limited.
“It’ll be something that [General Manager Adam Peters] and his staff and I will visit with about,” Quinn said. “But there’s also guys here for this purpose, and when those moments happen, are you ready to deliver?”
