In his four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, defensive end Jared Allen has not only started all 64 games, he's also rarely missed a snap.
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According to official playing-time documents, Allen has played in 95.7% (2008), 94.21% (2009), 93.4% (2010) and 94.27% (2011) of the Vikings' defensive plays. Overall, Allen has played in 3,798 of 4,024 (94.4%) of Minnesota's defensive snaps the last four seasons.
To keep Allen fresh, Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said the team is going to try to get him some more rest this season.
"We're going to make a concerted effort to try to get him off the field at times, without hurting the team," Frazier said, via Jeremy Fowler of the Pioneer Press. "We don't want to hurt the team. He's our best pass rusher, one of the best in the NFL."
Allen was the best pass rusher in the NFL last season, leading the league with 22 sack. According to Football Outsiders Almanac 2012, Allen led the league in "QB Knockdowns," defined as sacks plus quarterback hits, with 35. One way the Vikings could help keep Allen fresh, and not hurt the team, would be to alleviate him from special teams duties. Over the last four seasons, Allen has logged nearly 300 additional snaps on special teams, including 90 plays in 2011.
