The Carolina Panthers have acquired defensive end Jared Allen in a trade with the Chicago Bears, the Panthers announced Tuesday. Chicago will receive an undisclosed 2016 draft choice in the trade.
“Jared Allen is a proven pass rusher in this league, and when you have a chance to add a quality player to your roster you must take advantage of the opportunity,” general manager Dave Gettleman said. “Jared fits us very well and we are excited to add him to our roster.”
In his 12th NFL season, Allen is a five-time Pro Bowler (2007-12) and four-time All Pro (2007-09, 2011) who is the NFL’s active sack leader with 134. He tallied eight double-digit sack seasons, including seven consecutive from 2007-13. His 22 sacks in 2011 are tied for the second-most in a single season in NFL history since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Allen signed with the Bears as an unrestricted free agent in 2014, starting all 15 games he played and tallying 5.5 sacks. This season, Allen started all three games for the team at outside linebacker as the Bears transitioned to a 3-4 defense.
A fourth-round draft choice of the 2004 NFL Draft (126th overall) by the Kansas City Chiefs, Allen has played in 175 career regular season games with 169 career starts for Kansas City (2004-07), Minnesota (2008-13) and Chicago (2014-15).
