Zach Allen agrees to three-year deal with Broncos
The busy day for the Denver Broncos continues! They have now reportedly inked defensive end Zach Allen to a three-year, $45.8 million deal with $32.5 million guaranteed, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported Monday evening.
While they can’t be officially announced until Wednesday, March 15 at 4:00 p.m. ET, the Broncos have already agreed to deals, in principle, with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, guard Ben Powers and tackle Mike McGlinchey.
Now, Sean Payton and the rest of the Broncos brass acquire its first big upgrade on defense, beginning on the EDGE.
Allen’s average annual value of $15.3 million is the 11th-highest among all defensive ends leaguewide, sandwiched in-between Trey Hendrickson and Emmanuel Ogbah, per Spotrac.
As Schefter notes, Allen re-unites with his former Cardinals and first-year Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who had Allen under his tutelage in all four seasons he was in Arizona.
The defensive end’s role progressively grew in his four seasons with Arizona, too. In 2022, he played 79 percent of the defensive snaps while tallying career-highs in sacks (5.5), tackles-for-loss (10), quarterback hits (20) and pass deflections (8) with 47 tackles. Over his career, Allen’s registered 138 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 21 tackles-for-loss in 45 career games (35 starts).
The numbers don’t necessarily indicate Allen’s upside; while he not possess the exact same skillset, he spent the last four years learning from J.J. Watt and Chandler Jones. Now, he’s gained even more defined role as arguably the Broncos’ top pass rusher — in lieu of defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones heading to the Seattle Seahawks — adding value as both a run-stopper and pass-rusher with his best play ahead of him.
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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