Jeff Allen (born January 8, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for Illinois. Allen was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He has also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

College career

After graduating from Chicago's King High School, Allen attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2008 to 2011. He started 47 games at both left and right tackle during his career.

Professional career

2012 NFL Draft

Projected as a second round selection by '' Sports Illustrated'', Allen was ranked as the No. 6 offensive guard available in the

. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round, 44th overall.

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

In his rookie season, Allen appeared in all 16 games, and became a starter at left guard by Week 4 against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. For his first two seasons with the Chiefs, he played with

Jon Asamoah Jonathan Yao-Lante Asamoah (born July 21, 1988) is a former offensive guard who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illino ...

who was a teammate of Allen's at Illinois.

Houston Texans

On March 9, 2016, Allen signed a four-year contract with the

. On May 11, 2018, Allen was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list after dealing with concussions and ankle injuries. On July 13, 2018, Allen was released by the Texans after reaching an injury settlement.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

On October 16, 2018, Allen signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Allen was re-signed on August 20, 2019. He was released on October 3, 2019. He announced his retirement after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV. Despite not being on the roster when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, he received a Super Bowl ring from the Chiefs.

Personal life

Allen is married to Marrisa Holden, a former Illinois soccer player. They have one daughter and son together. In 2018, the couple founded The Cookie Society, a gourmet cookie shop based in Frisco, Texas.

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Jeff 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Illinois Fighting Illini football players Kansas City Chiefs players Houston Texans players