Eagles Sign Olympian Devon Allen

A former WR at Oregon, Devon Allen wants to try the NFL before it's too late, and Philadelphia is giving him his chance

Improving at wide receiver hasn't gone the way the Eagles planned this offseason so the organization went off the beaten path on Friday, agreeing to terms with former Oregon receiver turned Olympian Devon Allen.

Roster Move: Eagles have signed WR Devon Allen.

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— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 8, 2022

Allen, 27, pressed pause on his NFL dreams to focus on track and field over the past two Olympics in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing fifth at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro before moving up to fourth at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

He plans on finishing his track career through the world championships set for Eugene, Oregon in July.

Allen rekindled interest by NFL teams by participating in Oregon's Pro Day last week where he was clocked at 4.35 in the 40-yard dash. After the session, Allen told local reporters he wanted to pursue his football dreams before age began to enter the equation.

"It's now or never because I don't want to get too old," said Allen. "I don't want to turn 30, 31, and then try and get into the NFL. I know the skill gap is still there from college to the NFL, but I think when I did play college and when I did play at a pretty good level, I would consider myself talented enough to play in the NFL."

Allen hasn't played football since 2016 at Oregon. His best season was 2014 when he was a significant deep threat for Mark Helfrich's offense, totaling 41 receptions for 684 yards and seven touchdowns before suffering a knee injury during the opening kickoff of the Rose Bowl.

A four-star recruit en route to the Ducks, Allen began focusing more and more on his Olympic-level promise in the 110-meter hurdles after that season, however.

The Eagles, of course, have a significant need at WR beyond DeVonta Smith and have tried to add to the position on both the trade market (Calvin Ridley and Robert Woods) and free agency (Christian Kirk and Allen Robinson) but have been unsuccessful.

Recent rumors surrounding DeVante Parker, who was traded from Miami to New England, and Brandin Cooks, who signed an extension with Houston, were a little overblown from an Eagles' perspective.

For now, Smith, Quez Watkins, and free-agent pickup Zach Pascal are penciled in as the top three receivers for Nick Sirianni while the Eagles have opened up trade talks when it comes to embattled 2020 first-round pick Jalen Reagor. 

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward, John Hightower, and Deon Cain are also on the offseason roster.

Allen shouldn't be regarded as an immediate attempt to upgrade at the position and instead more of a developmental prospect, possibly earmarked for a year on the practice squad to knock off the rust before making a run at the roster in 2023.

The WR position as a whole remains in play when it comes to the draft later this month where the Eagles now enter the first round with picks 15 and 18 and could use one on a wideout, which would be the third consecutive year after Reagor and Smith.

  -John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen