Jets waive injured Antonio Allen

After he suffered an Achilles injury on Thursday, the New York Jets waived safety Antonio Allen a day later, clearing the way for him to potentially be placed on the team’s Injured Reserves. The player would still need to clear waivers in order to be placed on IR.

Allen hobbled off the field on Thursday midway through another session of training camp, clearly suffering after what was a non-contact injury. The safety, now in his third year in the league, had a very solid camp and was firmly entrenched in the team’s two-deep. It is a blow to the secondary even as they have relatively good depth at the position.

To replace his spot on the roster, the Jets signed safety Keon Lyn, a former defensive back at Syracuse who was playing in the CFL.

Last year, he was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted rookie free agent but was cut in late June.

It was bad news for Allen who just can’t seem to catch a break. He was switched last year from safety to cornerback with the Jets dire thin depth at the position. It was a difficult transition for Allen, a draft pick under former general manager Mike Tannenbaum, and he was eventually moved back to safety where he has shown promise and delivered plenty of big hits.

In college at South Carolina, Allen played as a linebacker and he was always very solid in run support for the Jets.