Washington Football Team’s Jonathan Allen suffers injury at camp

Washington Football Team defensive lineman Jonathan Allen suffered a minor injury at training camp on Sunday, per reports from team media.

The Washington Football Team has slowly been ramping up action at training camp as the 2020 regular season grows closer. As the time to finalize the 53-man roster creeps toward the present, the coaches will need to cultivate more game situations in practice, to better gauge where players are at.

Sunday appeared to be one of those more competitive days. Ron Rivera remarked on Saturday that Sunday would be an important practice session for player evaluations, and the team reportedly got off to a quick start with 11-on-11 drills and lite scrimmage sessions.

In these sessions, however, starting defensive lineman Jonathan Allen did suffer an apparent injury, per NBC Sports’ J.P. Finlay. According to Finlay, Allen was in some pain, and limped off the field with the help of trainers, gingerly walking on his left leg.

Allen’s reaction, as well as the trainers’, line up with some major non-contact injuries we’ve seen over the years, but there is some reason for optimism regarding the eventual diagnosis. Allen’s leg was only taped up after an examination from trainers, and according to ESPN’s John Keim, he stayed at practice on the sidelines, bending his leg while sitting and resting.

Allen did not return to action, an observation that more than likely signals the coaching staff’s desire to be cautious with all injuries in training camp, particularly ones suffered by important players and projected starters. Ron Rivera made clear after practice that the injury “doesn’t look serious”.

Allen, 25, was drafted by the Washington Football Team in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and has since developed into one of the team’s better defenders, as well as a valuable defensive team captain. Over the past two seasons, Allen has been particularly productive on the interior, totaling 14.0 sacks and 18 tackles for loss over that time span.

Heading into 2020, Allen is part of a stalwart defensive front rotation that features himself, Matt Ioannidis, and 2018 first-round selection Daron Payne. The hope is that Allen’s injury is minor and that he’ll be good to go for the regular season.