Josh Allen Explains Why He Is ‘All In’ on Jaguars Franchise

With a mass exodus of players leaving Jacksonville and then throwing shade on the Jaguars, Josh Allen explains why he sees a different team.

For the Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans, the last two years have featured more losses than wins not only on the field, but off of it as well. 

While the Jaguars racked up an 11-21 record over the last two seasons, they saw a mass exodus of players from both sides of the ball leave, either through trades or surprise releases. And in many of those cases, such as with Jalen Ramsey, Dante Fowler, and most recently Ronnie Harrison, players don't leave without parting shots.

Happy for you @Rharr_15 .. all my dawgs free & about to get all them blessings! Cleveland just got a good 1 that’s for sure! It’s all God 🙏🏾

— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) September 3, 2020

So Relieved To Be Out Of Jacksonville And Around A New Team Who Wants One Common Goal! Thank You God! ✊🏿💯💯💯

— Ronnie Harrison II (@Rharr_15) September 6, 2020

"For the first time in my life, I really have a quarterback," Leonard Fournette says of playing with Tom Brady in Tampa.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 8, 2020

In many ways, it continued to seem like players leaving Jacksonville while trashing the franchise and the way it operates had become common practice. But in the eyes of one Jaguars defender, he sees a different team. 

Defensive end Josh Allen went out of his way on Sunday -- the same day Harrison said he was relieved to leave Jacksonville -- to exclaim how glad he was to be a member of the Jaguars, a stark contrast from the opinion held by some of the few who have left.

Glad to be a JACKSONVILLE JAGUAR #Duuuuvallllll 🗣

— Joshua Hines-Allen (@JoshHinesAllen) September 6, 2020

Allen, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, is only in his second season but he is already one of the faces of the team, though this is in part to the aforementioned departures. Still, there is no other player aside from Garnder Minshew II who is more important to the Jaguars' success than Allen, and Allen wants the team, city and fans to know how important he considers his role.

"Personally, when I'm all in, I'm all in," Allen said in a media conference on Thursday when asked about his tweet. 

"The Jacksonville Jaguars took a chance on me, picking me up at 7. So, I knew once then imma do my all just to bring that standard back high, and bring this team success, and that's just something I pride myself on."

It was fairly obvious when Allen displayed his Jaguars pride on Sunday that he was doing it in part as a response to the way other players had talked about the team as they left, and he essentially confirmed this on Thursday. Allen said no names, but it is clear to him that he feels significantly different about the Jaguars than many of his ex-teammates.

"And just the way guys leave and not feel that way about the team giving them an opportunity just kinda puts me in a bad spot because not a lot of people in this world get to have an opportunity like we have, and just having the opportunity for this team to come pick you up is a blessing in all," Allen said.

It needs to be pointed out that in some cases, grievances from players with the franchise is understandable. Former front office czar Tom Coughlin ruled with an unpopular style of discipline, while the front office also failed to reward several deserving homegrown players with new contracts. 

But Coughlin is gone and the Jaguars are attempting to move in a different direction from a culture perspective. Allen is integral to that culture, and he wants those inside and outside of the franchise to know how much that means to him.

"So, I'm gonna try to put everything I can to this organization to give higher standards. I want this city to know that they have a guy that's passionate about this team, that's passionate about this city, that's passionate about all these teammates, coaches and everybody included," Allen said. 

"So, like I said, I'm all in and I feel like my teammates know that, and hope Duval knows that and hopefully I can be here for a very long time and help change the franchise now, next year, three years, 10 years, who knows how long. But I just want to leave a big impact on this city, and that's who I want to be remembered as."