Jonathan Allen: Everything you need to know

Allen and the Bengals have agreed to terms on a two-year, $26 million deal Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The 31-year-old defensive lineman from Alabama is set to join the Bengals after spending his 2025 campaign with the Vikings. Allen has appeared in 25 regular-season games over the last two seasons, recording 87 total tackles, including 6.5 sacks. Additionally, he earned Pro Bowl selections in 2021 and 2022 while playing for the Commanders. Now in Cincinnati, Allen is expected to operate as the Bengals' top interior defensive lineman during the 2026 season.

The Vikings are expected to release Allen in the coming days, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports. Allen inked a three-year, $51 million deal with the Vikings last offseason, but Minnesota is way over the salary cap and needs to make cost-cutting moves. In releasing Allen, Minnesota would clear $6.5 million in cap space but also retain more than $17.3 million in dead money. In his lone season with the Vikings, Allen started all 17 regular-season contests, recording a career-high 68 tackles (29 solo), including 3.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery on 76 percent of the defensive snaps.

Allen posted three tackles (one solo) in Sunday's 16-3 win over the Packers. He finished the season with 68 tackles (29 solo), including 3.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery over 17 games. Allen wasn't prolific but managed to stay healthy in his first campaign outside of Washington after he played in just eight regular-season games for the Commanders last year. The veteran defensive end's 68 stops tied a career-best regular-season mark, though his 3.5 sacks were his fewest over a full season since 2020. This was the first campaign of Allen's three-year contract, though it's not out of the question that the Vikings could opt to cut him in the offseason.