Jaguars OLB Josh Allen wants to leave a 'legacy,' has lofty goals after signing extension
Good things come to those who wait.
That's doubly true for Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen, who bided his time, eventually inking the largest contract extension in franchise history with the club, worth a reported $150 million over five years.
Allen, who was drafted with the seventh-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, met with the media Wednesday afternoon shortly after putting pen to paper. He didn't have to come far from his home in Jacksonville, one that he and his family led by his wife Kaitlyn, will call home for at least five more years.
Josh Allen inks his deal: Jaguars, OLB Josh Allen agree to five-year contract extension. Here are our takeaways
Before he set the franchise's single-season high in sacks with 17.5 last year, Allen took a trip out to Phoenix, Ariz., working with former Arizona Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry — and at Exos Athletic Training. He plans to do the same this year, because if it's not broken, why fix it?
"You want to keep doing the same thing at the same time, the same schedule, but you can't, 'cause life happens and things change.' And so for me, it's like, okay, what do I do next? How do I handle it? How do I do this? Mine was just like, do the same thing, just extend it a couple of times," Allen said.
"Don't stress about anything. 'Cause I go train in Arizona and I feel like that process got me to perform at a very high level. It got me mentally, and physically ready to compete and to perform. So, for me, I was like, well, I gotta get out there. I gotta do this."
Allen indicated that he would be in town for the first couple of weeks of the off-season program to meet with the team's new defensive coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. At some point, he will leave for Arizona again to work on performing at a high level the same as he has through the first five years of his time in Jacksonville.
In the meantime, Allen will look to build on what he means to Jacksonville and NFL history.
"I’m a legacy guy, like I told myself for a long time. When I look back on my legacy, I look at my family. My sister has won a professional championship, so she’s up on me. I think about this all the time," Allen said.
"I know I’m super competitive. I got to win a Super Bowl and be the MVP and I can be up one, I’m not going to stop until I get that. That’s motivating me, that’s bigger than money. For me, if I can do that and bring the first win to Jacksonville, and be MVP, that’s my goal. I’m not stopping until I get there.”
Allen, who has 45 career sacks, is just 10 sacks from the team's franchise record, currently held by Tony Brackens. That's a target that Allen has his eyes set on.
"Tony Brackens, who has become a big mentor of mine throughout the years, just to know I'm right on his heels is a blessing. I passed Calasis' [Campbell] who was another mentor of mind coming in, so knowing that I did that was huge and now it's Tony. I'm going to get emotional again, but I'm going to save that for my wife and I."
An emotional Allen spent most of his time addressing why the team's investment in him means the world. He spent some of his time trying not to talk about his wife because he knew he'd get emotional.
He did anyway.
Something he made sure to focus on and circle back to is the legacy that he will leave in Jacksonville when he retires down the line. His contract extension gives him more time to leave his mark.
"I wanted to be the best defensive player to ever come out of Jacksonville history," Allen said when referencing when he first landed in the city. "I got five more years to keep stacking and stacking and stacking. I’m excited about that, I’m excited for it and whoever comes to try to get my record, it’s going to be a very tall task and I’m going to make it very hard for them."
He's close to it.
In five years in Jacksonville, Allen has accumulated 162 solo tackles, 45 sacks and nine forced fumbles. According to ESPN, Allen ranks sixth in pressures (228) and is tied for 10th in sacks (32) in the NFL over the last three seasons.
He's been voted to the Pro Bowl twice and is just the third Jaguars first-round pick since 2010 to earn a contract extension. The others are former 2010 first-round pick, defensive lineman Tyson Alualu and 2014 first-rounder, QB Blake Bortles.
That means something, not just for Allen's legacy, but for the team's too.
Allen said that he tries to stay off of social media, but couldn't help but notice the support the team has given him throughout the long negotiating process. There were ups and downs and that was the same way he viewed the team's fans when talking about his deal.
"It’s definitely hard, negotiating there’s ups and downs. It’s, ‘Dang, they didn’t feel like this? Oh! We’re going in the right direction!’ It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and then seeing the fans really wanted me back, they knew what type of player I was on and off the field. Just having that local support behind me I think helped. Shoutout to all of Duval, they know I love them," said Allen.
"They know, even when I remember sitting in one of the games and somebody [said], ‘Josh, you going to do something?’ a couple of years ago, I [didn't] let that hold me back. I’ll use that for motivation and it got me where I am today. So, thank you to whoever that was.”
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Josh Allen talks leaving a legacy, signing extension
