The Patriots are trading for Colts tight end Dwayne Allen, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Patriots will be sending a fourth-rounder to the Colts in exchange for Allen and a sixth-round pick, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The deal has been confirmed by the Colts via press release.
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The deal, which had no prior buildup, comes as a complete surprise. The Patriots have now added one of the league’s best offensive tight ends and that presumably spells the end of Martellus Bennett‘s time with the team.
During his only season in New England, Bennett hauled in 55 catches for 701 yards and seven touchdowns. Considering Allen’s catching ability, he should be able to easily slide in as the number-two tight end behind Rob Gronkowski. Of course, the team also heavily relies on two tight end-sets, so Allen should get plenty of looks, especially in the red zone. The team is also rostering tight end Matt Lengel.
Allen was ranked 41st on Pro Football Focus‘ listing of tight ends (Bennett, meanwhile, was ranked 10th). The veteran performed better in the receiving game, but he struggled in both run and pass catching.
Allen signed a four-year, $29.4MM deal with the Colts one year ago today. Now, he’s slated to serve out the rest of that deal in New England. Allen is set to carry a $5.937MM cap number in 2017, which shouldn’t be too much of a burden on the Pats given the amount of space they presently have to work with. The Colts will free up $2.9MM in cap space, but they’ll also be left with $3MM in dead money.
The Colts re-signed fellow tight end Jack Doyle this week, making Allen somewhat expendable. The team will presumably be seeking a third tight end, as Erik Swoope is currently slotted as the backup.
Now, Indianapolis can redirect that money elsewhere. They have serious needs on the defensive line and they also have free agents of their own to still address, including versatile defensive back Darius Butler.
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Wow. So Marty’s not coming back then…
It really is sad. Marty deserves to get paid, the way he played through injury and lasted the whole season. He was a perfect fit for the Patriot way. Unfortunately, we have Gronk in a team friendly deal, and can’t pay Marty more than the best TE to play the game. Maybe we will carry 3 though. Remember last year we had 4 before trading one to the Broncos
BB does it again. Allen and Gronk will be a matchup problem for everyone. Interested to see what Indy gets, but why does Irsay deal with NE? That’s the team they need to go through to get to a SB..
A great move by NE and I’m not a Patriots fan.
Very true. Odd on the surface, but I don’t think we’ll be competing for anything other than 2nd place in the AFC South for a few years.
Send a 4th rounder for Allen and a 6th round pick. Great deal for the Pats.
Now they can give the money that Bennett was asking for to Hightower, someone who actually deserves the money in my opinion
A good trade for both sides as the Colts get a 4rth round pick and save some money,New England gets Allen and a 6th round pick.
Allen makes over $7m/yr and is always hurt and drops passes. He’s good in the red and a decent blocker but that’s it. Im happy with a 4th rounder. Pats fans should not be thrilled about this.
6m this year not over 7, same things were said about Martellus when the pats traded for him. I’m sure Allen will be great for the pats
So much is wrong about this _kherz.
First off, nobody said that about Martellus. Secondly, if Allen made $6M this year that means 3 years/23M remain on his contact. What’s the average of that? Over $7M per. Do some research.
The magician that is BB does it again. It’s fun seeing him screw over teams in trades lol