Former Vikings DL named 'puzzling' signing by new team

The Minnesota Vikings foudn themselves in a tough spot as it relates to their salary cap and roster. The result of that was the team let general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah go, and in the interim, those became Rob Brzezinski 's problem. The first thing he had to do was clear some cap space, as most teams do, but some notable names were cut along the way.

One of those players was former first-round pick, Jonathan Allen. He signed with the team last offseason afetr being released by the Washington Commanders. He was seen as someone who could be a steal for the Vikings and a great fit for Brian Flores on defense, but that never came about.

Fast forward a year, and ESPN's Seth Walder is more down on Allen than most, and his finding a new home with the Cincinnati Bengals is confusing to him. Walder writes, "The Bengals signing defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. The aforementioned Chubb signing and Kwity Paye's deal with the Raiders are also great contenders for this superlative.

But Allen getting as much as he did -- two years, $26 million -- as a 31-year-old coming off two straight years of declined performance (resulting in his release from the Commanders and Vikings) was really surprising. It also was a break for the Vikings. Allen had $8 million guaranteed from when they cut him -- and they could get all of that money back depending on how the contract is structured.