Jared Allen Could Have Been Playing In the Super Bowl

Dec 15, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen (69) smiles during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 48-30. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Jared Allen will be watching the Super Bowl today from some location, probably surrounded by stuffed animal corpses. But if things had gone just a little differently, Jared could easily have wound up playing in this year’s Super Bowl rather than just witnessing it on television like the rest of us.

It was a curious footnote to an otherwise forgettable Vikings season: the trade talk about Allen ahead of the deadline. In the hours leading up to the deadline, rumors flew that the Vikings were working out a deal with Seattle to send Jared west in exchange for draft picks.

Nothing came of it ultimately, and many chalked up the trade talks to overblown speculation intended to drive internet traffic. But reports did surface after the fact that Minnesota and Seattle were indeed working on a deal at one point, and that the intended trade was ultimately scuttled by Allen himself.

It came down to this: Jared Allen was owed a lot of money, and the Seahawks didn’t want to pay him all that money. For the trade to happen, Jared needed to agree to re-negotiate his contract. Jared was unwilling to do that, so he remained in Minnesota.

The Seahawks were just fine without Jared Allen. They made the Super Bowl anyway. And Jared Allen is left wondering what might have been.

What if Jared had agreed to a re-negotiation with Seattle. Give back a little bit of money for a shot at a ring? Jared wouldn’t do it. I wonder how he feels about his stance in retrospect.

Jared’s made a lot of money in his career. But he’s never been in a Super Bowl and he’s only been close once. He will sign somewhere in 2014, probably not the Vikings. He may yet get a shot at a ring. Or he may never get close again.

He could have had a shot this year, while still young and healthy enough to be a significant contributor. But he nixed the trade. Such is life.

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