With an opportunity to secure a postseason spot on Sunday, the Washington Commanders restored defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to their active roster on Saturday.

Allen’s return cost another former Alabama lineman his NFL roster spot as the Commanders waived defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis to create a spot on their 53-player active roster.

When Allen sustained a pectoral injury in the third quarter of a 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 13, his eighth NFL season appeared to be over as he headed to surgery.

But Allen returned to practice on Dec. 19, and, after missing nine games, he will be eligible to play when Washington plays the Atlanta Falcons at 7:20 p.m. CST Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. NBC will televise the game.

A victory by the Commanders would lift Washington’s record to 11-5 and secure a spot in the NFC playoff field.

Mathis had played a career-high 257 defensive snaps for the Commanders this season. But he had been designated as a game-day inactive in each of the past three games.

A second-round draft pick in 2022, Mathis sustained a knee injury on the third snap of his NFL career and missed the remainder of his rookie season. In 2023, Mathis opened the season on injured reserve after suffering a calf injury during the preseason and missed the first seven games.

The 17th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Allen has started all 108 games that he’s played for Washington and earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2021 and 2022.

At Alabama, Allen swept the national Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2016 by winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award. He also won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Rotary Lombardi Award as the nation’s best lineman and the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s best defensive end. Allen was a unanimous All-American in 2016, when he earned All-SEC selection for third season in a row.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.