Allen is working with a massage therapist to loosen the muscles in his hands, thus allowing them to expand more fully, and grab that extra quarter-inch, which clearly is the difference between NFL super-stardom and a career doing color analysis on the SEC Network.
“Basically, all these muscles in my hand are very tight, the massage therapist told me,” Allen said. “So he’s working out these muscles so that my hand kind of opens up a little more when I stretch it.” And because he is dedicated to this cause, Allen has also done plenty of solo work. “A lot on my own just stretching it out and working it,” he said.
Allen’s paws measured in at 8 7/8 at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. So it worked. But does it matter? It’s hard to see how it might. Staples quoted Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin:
