Onions are the secret ingredient to Josh Allen’s breakout season

Jacksonville Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen is putting together a career year with 12 sacks through 11 games. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the 26-year-old outside linebacker, who is scheduled to become a free agent in March.

And it’s all thanks to onions.

Well … maybe not all thanks, but Allen revealed Thursday that the vegetable has played a part in his big season. When Allen spoke to reporters in the locker room after practice, Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley interrupted the scrum to ask a question of his own. Why does Allen always smell like onions when he’s getting treatment in the Jaguars’ training room?

“Tell them about the onions! You smell like onions all the time,” Ridley said.

“No I don’t, alright, no I don’t,” Allen said with a smile. “It’s an old remedy. I get swelled up in my ankle so I got my doctor who just wrapped my foot with onions to really get the swelling to go down. It may smell like a little onions, he’s gassing it a little bit, but it works. It works.”

It’s not as wild as it sounds. There are plenty of medical studies that have shown the anti-inflammatory effects of onions. They’re benefits that Allen said he hadn’t started taking advantage of until this season.

“I needed something to keep the swelling down, something not really harmful,” Allen said. “Once I did it the first time and then I saw it go down and I was able to move it better, [I said] this is it.”

A dozen sacks later, it sure looks like onions are doing the trick.