Vikings great Jared Allen named Hall of Fame finalist for fifth time

Will Allen finally get into the Hall of Fame in 2025?

Oct 6, 2024; Tottenham, ENG; Former Defensive end Jared Allen is the Minnesota Vikings honorary guest for the match against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shaun Brooks-Imagn Images / Shaun Brooks-Imagn Images

Fifth time's a charm? Vikings legend Jared Allen has officially been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025. It's the fifth different time that he's been a finalist for the honor.

A member of the 100-Sack Club and voted four times as first-team All-Pro, Jared Allen is now a Finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025. #PFHOF25 pic.twitter.com/6j3QuVI9JF

— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) December 28, 2024

Allen was one of 15 modern-era players announced as Hall of Fame finalists for the 2025 class on Saturday. It's a bit surprising that one of the most dominant pass rushers of the 2000s and 2010s has had to wait this long to get his gold jacket, but he will have another chance this year.

Allen was a four-time first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler and he set the Vikings' single-season sack record with 22 in 2011. Only three players (Al Baker, Michael Strahan, and T.J. Watt) have ever had more sacks in a single season.

His 136 career sacks rank 16th in NFL history. Every player that ranks ahead of him is already in the Hall of Fame, except for Terrell Suggs, who is also a finalist this year. Allen was more than just a sack artist, as he also racked up 32 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, 55 passes defended, and 6 interceptions in his career.

Allen spent his first four years with the Chiefs, played six with the Vikings after being acquired via trade, and then had brief stints with the Bears and Panthers before retiring as a Viking in 2016. In October 2022, Allen was inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor as its 27th member.

The official class will be announced publicly on Feb. 6 during the NFL Honors event during Super Bowl week. If Allen does get in, he would become the 23rd former Viking in the Hall of Fame and the first inducted since Steve Hutchinson in 2020.

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