6 players the Vikings should have never let get away

Terry Allen – RB

Following his first two seasons with the Vikings, Terry Allen looked like he was on his way to becoming a solid member of the team’s offense for a number of years. After starting six games as a rookie in 1991, Allen rushed for 1,201 yards and 13 touchdowns as Minnesota’s top running back in 1992.

But then he suffered an unfortunate ACL tear (surprise, a Vikings player injured his knee) in the summer of 1993 and he was forced to miss the entire year. Allen returned to the field in 1994 for Minnesota, starting all 16 games and rushing for 1,031 yards and eight scores.

Despite finishing with the eighth-most rushing yards in the NFL in 1994, the Vikings decided to cut Allen during the following offseason.

He landed with the Washington Redskins and he proved to Minnesota that they probably shouldn’t have let him go. In his first two years with the Redskins in 1995 and 1996, Allen rushed for a total of 2,662 yards (over 1,300 each season) and 31 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, in the Twin Cities, it took until 1997 before the Vikings had another running back (Robert Smith) finish a season with over 1,000 rushing yards.

Minnesota could have certainly used more production in their offensive backfield in 1995 and 1996 and they would have likely had that if they just decided to keep Allen around.