The Cincinnati Bengals have signed former Atlanta Falcons safety Ricardo Allen.
Ricardo Allen was played with the Atlanta Falcons for seven seasons before being released last month. Allen was a popular player with the Falcons after being drafted in the fifth round out of Purdue.
Never a pro-bowler, Allen was nonetheless a steady presence in the Falcons secondary for much of the last decade. He started 76 games over the last five seasons and posted 11 interceptions over the course of his Falcons career.
Allen’s best season with Atlanta came in 2016 when he had 90 tackles and two interceptions. He had 85 tackles and two interceptions in 2019 when he started all 16 games for Atlanta.
Allen was a salary cap casualty and will still count just over $2M against Atlanta’s cap number in 2021, but by releasing him, the Falcons saved over $5M on their 2021 cap.
The Falcons signed Erik Harris from the Raiders to replace Allen’s veteran leadership, but Atlanta will still need to add a pair of safeties in the draft and free agency as they also lost Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee.
