Jared Allen named Hall of Fame Finalist

We missed this one earlier in the week, but better late than never, am I right?

The National Football League announced its list of 15 finalists for potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame a couple of days ago, and among the names is former Minnesota Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen. Allen, who is in his first year of eligibility, is one of four first-year nominees to make the finalist level.

Allen spent his first four years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, and was then traded to the Vikings before the start of the 2008 season. He played for the purple for six years, amassing 85.5 sacks in 96 games during that time. He led the NFL in sacks in 2011 with 22, just half a sack behind Michael Strahan’s “record” of 22.5.

(Yeah, I put “record” for Strahan in quotes. What of it?)

Following the 2013 season, Allen and the Vikings parted ways. He first went to the Chicago Bears for a little over a season and finished his career with the Carolina Panthers after being traded out of Chicago.

Allen spoke with Jim Rome about his being named a Hall of Fame finalist.

You can hear Allen’s entire interview with Rome right here.

We won’t know whether or not Allen officially hears the call from Canton for a couple of weeks yet. The Hall of Fame voting committee will meet virtually on 19 January in order to cast their votes for this year’s class.

Congratulations to Jared Allen on his making the cut with the rest of the finalists for potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021!