MINNEAPOLIS — One of the best defensive ends to play for the Minnesota Vikings will soon be enshrined into the team's Ring of Honor this fall after the team surprised Jared Allen with the announcement on Friday.
The Idaho State product was surprised by head coach Kevin O'Connell when he announced after practice Friday that Allen would join the Ring of Honor in October. Allen was at practice on Friday and spoke with the team about what it takes to be great in the NFL.
On Saturday, sporting his on-brand mullet, Allen spoke to the media about being inducted into the Ring of Honor during a press conference. He started off talking with the media by joking about the "makeshift" setup outside of the team's facilities, saying "with so many cool things inside, we just keep it old school out here." He also noted that the airplanes overhead messed up the media's sound. "Billion-dollar organization and we got planes flying all over, I'll work on that, that'll be my next campaign," he said with a grin.
Between jokes, Allen said he had no idea that the team would honor him like this and that he does wish his family were there for the surprise, but added that they'll be there for the induction ceremony.
"Honestly, it's humbling and it's exciting," he said. "Just to know the work I did here so many years ago stands the test of time."
After being drafted out of Idaho State by Kansas City in 2004, the defensive end played for the Chiefs for four seasons before being traded to Minnesota. Allen went on to play six seasons for the Vikings, where he racked up 85.5 of his 136 career sacks. He retired after the 2015 season following short stints in Chicago and Carolina.
When he was traded to the Vikings, Allen said that it was where he wanted to go at the time, saying on Saturday that he lacked the "trust and commitment" from the Chiefs and that "I was the guy moving forward." However, he found what Kansas City was lacking in Minnesota.
"I just wanted to play for an organization that believed in me as much as I believed in them and so I describe it to other people, when people talk about what does Minnesota mean, it's the relationships that formed when I first started here," he said.
Allen played 187 games during his 13 seasons, compiling the 12th most sacks in NFL history, 648 total career tackles and 171 career tackles for loss. In 2011, he came up a 0.5 sack shy of matching Hall of Famers Michael Strahan's single-season sacks record (22.5).
The Vikings will induct Allen into the team's Ring of Honor on Sunday, Oct. 30 when Minnesota hosts the Arizona Cardinals.
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