Eagles WR Devon Allen Has Decision to Make: Track or Football?

Philadelphia Eagles receiver and track and field standout Devon Allen, who spent last year on the practice squad, may soon have to decide between the two sports.

PHILADELPHIA – With one foot in the track and field world and the other still in football, Devon Allen may soon have a decision to make - he may have to jump into one with both feet very soon.

The receiver, 28, who spent all last season on the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles re-acclimating himself to football after not having played it since 2016, is competing to earn a spot in the World Athletic Championships.

The event is held from Aug. 19-27. That time frame, of course, is exactly when the dog days of Eagles training camp will be underway. The Eagles have their final two preseason games on Aug. 17 and 24 against the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.

And it’s probably not likely that Allen could practice with the Eagles until the middle of August and then fly to the site of the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

"Yeah, I still don't have a plan of what I'm going to do with Worlds being, you know, during training camp," Allen told KPIC 4 in a recent interview with his hometown television station in Oregon. "Obviously, it'd be nice to compete at Worlds and also it would be nice to be at training camp so I can make the 53-man roster.

“So, obviously it's going be a little bit of a decision, but I'm not going to worry about that until I make the world championship team. USA is a competitive meet. Just got to focus on doing that first.”

Allen's next race will take place at the USATF Outdoor Championships, scheduled for July 6-9 at the University of Oregon, his alma mater. If he finishes in the top three, he would then qualify for the World Athletic Championship, forcing him – and the Eagles, too – to make a decision about his football-playing future.

Allen, who was seen at one of the two open-to-reporters OTAs the Eagles held this spring, was a repeat winner at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field this past April and he has already run in five outdoor events. He did not compete during the indoor season due to the length of the Eagles’ season.

“It was a little bit later than most seasons with football and making it to the Super Bowl, obviously,” he told KPIC 4. “We didn't finish playing until February 12. Then, obviously, I wanted a little bit of time off to make sure I'm not banged up. It's a long football season.”

Allen placed second in the 110-meter hurdles at the USATF New York City Grand Prix on Saturday, June 24, in a time of 13.04 seconds. It was the fourth-fastest time in the world.

“It's going well,” Allen said. “Balancing both is difficult, but I'm having a lot of fun as long as I can stay healthy. Get to compete against these guys in high-quality competition. 13.01 and 13.04 is nothing to scoff at. So, we're ready to go.”

The track has always been Allen’s first love. He is a three-time U.S. national champion (2014, 2016, and 2018) and a two-time Olympian, reaching the finals in the 110 hurdles in both the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Allen played three seasons as a receiver at the University of Oregon from 2014-2016 and made 54 catches for 919 yards and eight touchdowns in that span but chose to focus on track. He was a surprise signing to the Eagles’ practice squad last offseason.

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Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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