Retiring early.. Minnesota Vikings CB Asher Allen calls it quits at 24-years - NFL News
Getting a chance to play in the National Football League (NFL) and taking to the field against some of the biggest name in the sport is a dream for every youngster.
That was the dream as well for Minnesota Vikings cornerback, Asher Allen, who signed by the franchise in the 3rd round in 2009.
Joining the franchise as a 20-year-old the cornerback has now surprisingly announced that he is retiring from the game after spending just four seasons as a professional NFL player.
It is not known what the reason is for Allen’s surprising decision to retire from the game and Vikings head coach, Leslie Frazier, speaking to the media after taking practice on Wednesday, said that he too was surprised by the 24-year-old’s decision.
"I didn't see that coming. Everybody has to make decisions that they think are best for them."
The player started 10 games in his first season in the league making 27 tackles and a single sack in his rookie year.
In 2010-11, his game time had improved to 14 games and he ended the season with 58 tackles to his name.
However, last season Allen struggled considerably to improve his production and started 12 games ending the season by making 49 tackles and no sacks.
His decreased production was in line with the regression along the whole of the Vikings defence as they struggled to cope with the opposition throughout the season and ended up with a horrific 3-13 regular season record.
It is unlikely that decreased performance was the reason for Allen’s retirement and speculation persists that the player’s two concussions over the course of his career are the main reason he has taken such a big step.
Concussion injuries have become huge news recently after 100s of former NFL players sued the league for not educating them on the harmful side effects of head injuries while the suicide of NFL great Junior Seau due to probable effects from concussions has
also put the spotlight on the game being too dangerous in its current form.
It is likely that the player has retired so early so that he would not suffer more head injuries while playing the game.
Frazier went on to add.
"He will talk about it more at some point. He explained to me that this is something that he wanted to do and he had given it a lot of thought and that is what he wanted to do."
He continued further that with Allen’s retirement the franchise will look for a replacement to add depth to the team’s secondary.
"We want depth, we want competition in the secondary and he definitely helped to provide that,"
Hopefully the player will in the future explain why he left his dream unfulfilled of becoming a great NFL player.
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