Jonathan Allen‘s rookie season is already over. The defensive lineman’s Lisfranc injury will rule him out the rest of the way, John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears. The Redskins will place Allen on injured reserve this week.
Initially, the Redskins believed that Allen’s foot issue would keep him out for only 3-4 weeks. However, further testing revealed that the injury was more serious.
It’s a frustrating setback for Allen, particularly given his history of injuries in college. In his five games this year, Allen showed lots of promise and graded out as a higher-end interior defender, per the metrics at Pro Football Focus. He had ten total tackles and one sack in his abbreviated campaign.
If not for his health issues, Allen might have been a top five pick in the 2017 draft. But, because of concerns about his shoulders, the Redskins were able to scoop him up at No. 17 overall. His future is bright, but Allen will have to put everything on hold until the offseason.
With Allen sidelined, the Redskins will lean a bit more on reserve defensive end Matthew Ioannidis and nose tackle Stacy McGee. As detailed by PFF, Ioannidis looked sharp against San Francisco on Sunday, ending the day with two sacks, one hit, and three additional QB hurries. Ioannidis has 20 total pressures this season off of just 121 pass-rushing snaps.
While the Redskins have options to plug from within, they’ll add a defensive lineman for depth, at the very least. They may also explore some veteran options.
The Redskins are 3-2 after topping the 49ers. Next up is a Monday night game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.