Hall of Fame Vikings DE Jared Allen shares hilarious story about meeting teammates
At NFL Honors, the Minnesota Vikings found out the 23rd member of the organization is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in defensive end Jared Allen. It was a long time coming for Allen, who not only had to wait five years, but was a finalist in all of them. He got […]
At NFL Honors, the Minnesota Vikings found out the 23rd member of the organization is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in defensive end Jared Allen.
It was a long time coming for Allen, who not only had to wait five years, but was a finalist in all of them. He got the call this year for the 2025 class with three other members: wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, tight end Antonio Gates, and defensive back Eric Allen.
Jared Allen shares hilarious anecdote about joining Vikings
The Vikings hosted Allen for a press conference on Tuesday after he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he got a chance to talk to the media and answer questions.
One of the questions he got asked was about "what's on the cover of the book" about his time in Minnesota and the answer we got about him landing in Minnesota was incredible.
"Honestly, first getting here, that's why I'm glad Pat's (Williams) here, because I couldn't understand a word. He said, no joke, (Karl) Dunbar, Pat, and Kevin (Williams) pick me up, right? Those are the three largest human beings I've ever seen in my life, and they picked me up at the airport, and I get into the car, and they're all from Louisiana, Kevin's from Arkansas, and Pat's doing all the talking. And I don't speak Pat yet, so I got nothing to say. He got a gold chain and a neck tattoo, and I got a cowboy hat.
"And I'm like, we're gonna be best friends. I think, I think this is, this is how it's gonna happen. And I had to learn to talk Pat and we went to, we went to Redstone, and I just stared in his mouth for like, a non creepy way. I'm just like, What is this dude saying? But I like it. It's provocative. I think that's what it was."
(Pat) Williams was a larger than life character in Minnesota and one of the best nose tackles we have seen with the Vikings. Coming into that and immediately trying to absorb the culture and what the Vikings were all about is excellent and why Allen was so beloved.
His presence in the locker room initially pissed off the defensive line. Why? They were elite in stopping the run.
"I am as competitive as they come, and it was brought to another level. Walk into that room, the minute I got in that car, him and Kevin started talking trash about how I couldn't play the run. I just had tackles. What are you talking about? So every year, my goal wasn't worried about sacks. I was trying to beat these guys and tackle the run. So that's what I remember. That's for me when I think, when I first got here. I walked into, I walked into a buzz saw of competitive people from the defensive side. They was like, 'Oh, finally, we got someone here.' It was almost like they were pissed off that I was here, because they felt like they were like, what we need this guy? I mean, they reminded me every single day, you know, we're the number one run defense. And I'm like, Yeah, suck it into the quarterback, though."
Nobody is quite as charismatic as Allen.
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