The Patriots and Vikings went in different directions at punter, with the defending Super Bowl champions drafting one and Minnesota signing Britton Colquitt after waivers. That left Ryan Allen and Matt Wile looking for work. Both veterans worked out for the Texans this week, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
Houston, as of now, is going into a second season with Trevor Daniel as its punter. The Texans went with Daniel, a 2018 UDFA out of Tennessee, as their punter over all-time great Shane Lechler. Daniel ranked 29th in yards per punt last season (43.2).
Allen (16th in 2018 yards per punt, 45.1) spent six years as New England’s punter, his last game proving to be arguably his most important — a five-punt Super Bowl LIII assignment. Three of Allen’s Super Bowl boots landed inside the Rams’ 10-yard line. However, the Pats went with fifth-round rookie Jake Bailey (and a cheaper salary).
Wile was the Vikings’ punter for 16 games last season; he finished 14th in 2018 yards per punt (45.2). It was his first full-time NFL gig. While the Vikings traded for possible dual-threat specialist Kaare Vedvik, they cut him but added Colquitt a day after Wile initially won the job.
Everyone’s favorite lefty punter!!! Ryan Allen!