Jared Allen Close To A Decision

Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff

Five time Pro Bowler Jared Allen is getting close to making a decision on which team he will be playing for next season, if he decides to continue playing next season.

Jared Allen is coming off his seventh straight 10+ sack season and eighth of his 10 year career (Allen had 22 sacks in his DPY campaign in 2011). Allen is looking to make his final decision on whether he will be joining another team or choose to retire soon. Allen has a few teams interested in his services including the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys.

The main issue for Allen is his hefty price tag in which he expects to make a deal similar to DeMarcus Ware's 3-year $30 million contract with the Denver Broncos. I still find it surprising that Allen has not signed on with a a team considering his age similarity to Ware and the fact that he is still putting up better numbers than Ware.

Allen brought his wife and kids on his second visit within one week to Seattle. A deal was reported to be finalized between him and the Seahawks via ESPN, but that was false and that's when Allen's agent informed the media that he would have a deal by this weekend.

The Cowboys, who were also in the front running of the Jared Allen sweepstakes, seem very unlikely to sign Allen since they just signed on former Chicago Bear DT Henry Melton. The only way the Cowboys could get Allen now would be if he was to take an extremely low offer, which is highly unlikely considering Jared Allen already said he is OK with retiring if he doesn't find an offer he likes.

I think Seattle would be the most likely and best fit for Allen, who may have to make some sacrifices if winning a Super Bowl is on his bucket list. He will have to come to terms with battling for playing time against Seattle's top pass rushers in Cliff Avril and Michael Bennet who combined for 16.5 sacks last season (Allen racked up 11.5 sacks alone last season). Allen's future is in his hands and right now he is in the perfect position, he is said to have saved a majority of the money he has already earned in the NFL and could retire today if he wanted and on the other hand he has the chance to make a Super Bowl run with the defending champs, who have the best shot at winning the title next year as well.

Whatever team does get lucky enough to snag Jared Allen up will be getting a guy who has only missed 3 games in his career, the last coming in the 2007 season, and the leadership you would want for a rugged defense. Jared Allen is a must-have for any franchise and hopefully something is worked out so the fans can watch the wrangling cowboy tie-up a few other QB's next season on his way to his first Super Bowl appearance.