Tag: Ricardo Allen

Report: Dolphins move on from coaches Ricardo Allen, Mike Judge and Brendan Farrell

A trio of assistants leaving Miami.

After news of Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive assistant Kolby Smith parting ways with the team, there have been more coaching moves.

According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the Dolphins have also moved on from offensive assistants Ricardo Allen and Mike Judge as well as assistant special teams coach Brendan Farrell.

Allen, 32, joined the Dolphins as a special teams assistant in 2022 and moved to offensive assistant this past year following an eight-year career as a safety with the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.

Judge joined Miami’s staff in 2019 under Brian Flores working as a quality control coach (2019-20) before moving to assistant tight ends coach in 2021 and offensive assistant in 2023. Prior to his time with the Dolphins he worked with the New England Patriots, Harvard and Navy.

Farrell joined the Dolphins in his current position in 2019 after spending six years as a special teams analyst for Alabam and four years as assistant head coach at Northwestern State.

Ex-Falcons safety Ricardo Allen joins Dolphins coaching staff

Just 10 days after retiring from the NFL, former Falcons safety Ricardo Allen has taken an assistant coaching position with the Dolphins.

After a seven-year stint in Atlanta, safety Ricardo Allen was released by the Falcons at the start of the 2021 offseason. He eventually landed in Cincinnati last season, helping a young Bengals team reach the Super Bowl.

Allen, 30, announced that he was retiring just 10 days ago, but he now appears to have joined Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel’s staff in Miami as a special teams assistant.

Allen confirmed the rumors when spotted at the NFL scouting combine.

“Yeah, I’m with the Dolphins,” Allen said on Thursday, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Back when he was in Atlanta, Allen talked about his desire to get into coaching one day, and more specifically, to become an offensive coordinator. McDaniel is familiar with Allen from his time as an offensive assistant on the Falcons staff from 2015-2016.

The Dolphins hired Chandler Henley, who served as Atlanta’s assistant offensive line coach in 2021, and recently interviewed Falcons QB coach Charles London for their offensive coordinator gig.

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What could a franchise quarterback bring to Washington?

A franchise quarterback can bring more to Washington than just his play on the field.

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What could a franchise quarterback bring to Washington?

Every single fan of the Washington Football Team must by now want and expect the Washington brass to be in hot pursuit of either a franchise QB through a trade or a draft choice in the 2022 offseason.

Interestingly enough, during Saturday’s NFL playoff game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals, a brief discussion was launched by Mike Tirico and Drew Brees regarding Bengals’ cornerback Ricardo Allen’s comment concerning a franchise quarterback.

Brees mentioned that prior to the game, he had asked Allen why he had decided to (leave Atlanta and) come to the Bengals. Allen, who spent the first six years of his career playing in Atlanta picking off 11 passes for interceptions, was reported to have simply replied, “Joe Burrow, he is the real deal.”

Indeed Burrow has shown himself in his second NFL season to be “the real deal.” The 6-foot-4 221-pound Burrow remained healthy almost all of this season, starting 16 games, and was the NFL leader in completion percentage (70.4%), yards gained per pass attempt (8.9) and adjusted yards gained per pass attempt (9.0).

Keep in mind Burrow put up these numbers despite not having the best of protection from the Bengals’ offensive line. Burrow also has the distinction of also leading the NFL in QB sacks in 2021, going down 51 times for -370 yards, both league highs.

Brees continued he was not surprised to hear Allen’s response because the NFL is now such “a quarterback-driven league.” So free agents are aware that if they come to Cincinnati joining Burrow,  it “will give them a chance to win an NFL championship.”

Consequently, I could not help but instantly respond, “Hmmm, would NFL quality free agents want to come to Washington to be able to play with their current quarterbacks on the roster?”

Of course, I am well aware money does talk. But listening to Brees Saturday, he is convinced that it will be increasingly true that free agents will be looking for teams in which they feel the quarterback can provide them a real opportunity to win an NFL championship.

Thus, what can a franchise quarterback bring to Washington? He can bring along some veteran players who want to be provided the opportunity to play for a quarterback they are confident can lead the team to an NFL championship.

 

Ricardo Allen to sign 1-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals

A little over a month following his release from the Atlanta Falcons, free safety Ricardo Allen has found a new home.

A little over a month following his release from the Atlanta Falcons, safety Ricardo Allen has found a new home. As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Allen is signing a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Falcons selected Allen in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft and he would go on to be one of former general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s best picks. Allen became a starter during his second season, a role he would hold on to for six years, recording 245 solo tackles, 26 passes defended and 11 interceptions.

Cincinnati’s defensive backfield already includes safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell, and Allen gives the team an experienced defensive back that can play multiple spots. His contract simply was no longer going to work for an Atlanta team that was $30 million over the salary cap not long ago.

The Falcons also let Keanu Neal leave for the Dallas Cowboys, and Damontae Kazee could soon follow. Atlanta signed former Raiders safety Erik Harris to help the transition.

Expect the team to add another safety using one of its nine current draft picks in 2021.

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Bengals agree to terms with free-agent DB Ricardo Allen

The Cincinnati Bengals made yet another free-agency splash.

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The defensive hits just keep coming for the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency.

Wednesday, the team agreed to terms with free-agent safety Ricardo Allen, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s a one-year deal, confirmed by Allen’s reps.

Allen, 29, has been with the Atlanta Falcons since 2015 and last year over 12 games posted a 62.4 PFF grade, picking off two passes in the process.

A depth move for a Bengals defense that has already added Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton and Eli Apple to the secondary, Allen is a versatile type who can play corner or switch to a safety spot.

The move is yet the latest in a long line of resets for the defense, highlighted by the massive deal for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

Cincinnati also has a planned visit with edge rusher Ryan Kerrigan.

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Report: Ricardo Allen visited with Bengals

After seven seasons in Atlanta, the Falcons released safety Ricardo Allen last week in an effort to clear up cap space for the new league year.

After seven seasons in Atlanta, the Falcons released safety Ricardo Allen last week in an effort to clear up cap space for the new league year. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cincinnati Bengals had Allen in for a workout on Tuesday.

Allen started 12 games in 2020, finishing with 25 tackles, five passes defended and two interceptions. At 29 years old, he can definitely still play at a high level.

Over his seven seasons with the Falcons, Allen recorded 340 tackles, 11 interceptions and 26 passes defended. Cincinnati finished last year with a 4-11-1 record, good for last place in the AFC North.

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Ricardo Allen shares classy goodbye to Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons released veteran safety Ricardo Allen on Thursday in an effort to create salary cap space for the new league year.

The Atlanta Falcons released veteran safety Ricardo Allen on Thursday in an effort to free up salary cap space for the new league year.

A fifth-round pick in 2014, Allen was a key member of the Falcons’ defense for the past six seasons — racking up 340 tackles (245 solo), 11 interceptions and 26 passes defended. Allen was an expected cap casualty due to the Falcons being $30 million over the projected 2021 cap.

Despite being released, the former Purdue standout doesn’t seem to be holding any ill will towards the organization. Allen released a classy goodbye message on his Instagram, thanking the city, franchise and team owner Arthur Blank. Check it out below, as shared by Fox reporter Justin Fielder.

Atlanta also released defensive end Allen Bailey, and waived quarterback Kurt Benkert on Thursday.

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Falcons get some good news regarding 2021 salary cap

On Thursday morning, the NFL announced that the cap for the 2021 season will no longer be floored at the $175 million mark, but rather the $180 million mark.

The Falcons created roughly $10 million in salary cap space on Thursday by releasing Ricardo Allen and Allen Bailey, but are still well over the projected cap. Atlanta got some good news, though, as the NFL announced that the cap for the 2021 season will no longer be floored at the $175 million mark, but rather the $180 million mark.

The $5 million increase isn’t going to get Atlanta out of trouble, but it does help alleviate some costs. Recently, I broke down ways the team could get into compliance with the cap, however, that breakdown assumed the minimum would be $175 million.

The Falcons may be able to afford to keep someone they had initially pegged as a cap casualty. This will also help the team potentially go after impact players in free agency.

Not to mention, Atlanta will receive an extra cap increase of $1.78 million due to the rollover from the 2020 season.

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Falcons get some good news regarding 2021 salary cap

On Thursday morning, the NFL announced that the cap for the 2021 season will no longer be floored at the $175 million mark, but rather the $180 million mark.

The Falcons created roughly $10 million in salary cap space on Thursday by releasing Ricardo Allen and Allen Bailey, but are still well over the projected cap. Atlanta got some good news, though, as the NFL announced that the cap for the 2021 season will no longer be floored at the $175 million mark, but rather the $180 million mark.

The $5 million increase isn’t going to get Atlanta out of trouble, but it does help alleviate some costs. Recently, I broke down ways the team could get into compliance with the cap, however, that breakdown assumed the minimum would be $175 million.

The Falcons may be able to afford to keep someone they had initially pegged as a cap casualty. This will also help the team potentially go after impact players in free agency.

Not to mention, Atlanta will receive an extra cap increase of $1.78 million due to the rollover from the 2020 season.

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Falcons waive QB Kurt Benkert

On Thursday afternoon, it was reported that the Atlanta Falcons had released safety Ricardo Allen and defensive end Allen Bailey.

On Thursday afternoon, it was reported that the Atlanta Falcons had released safety Ricardo Allen and defensive end Allen Bailey. The team confirmed Adam Schefter’s report shortly after, while adding that backup quarterback Kurt Benkert had been waived.

Benkert was an undrafted free agent out of Virginia that signed with the Falcons in 2018. While he never played in a regular season game, he looked to be progressing nicely in preseason action.

Atlanta had signed Benkert to a reserve/future contract back in January, but that was before Arthur Smith came on board as head coach. The decision to release both Allen and Bailey was expected to free up salary cap space.

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