Beau Allen

DT Beau Allen Retires After Seven Seasons

Veteran defensive tackle Beau Allen took to Twitter today to announce that, after seven seasons of play in the NFL, it was time for him to hang up his cleats. Allen went from a high school graduation in Minnetonka, MN, to winning a Super Bowl eight years later just ten miles east of Minnetonka before ultimately deciding to retire after two years away from the field. 

After graduating high school in a Minneapolis-suburb, Allen spurned his hometown college for a rival, deciding to go to his parents’ alma mater at the University of Wisconsin. Allen found his way to the field early as a Badger but didn’t break out until his sophomore year, when he accumulated 4.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. Over a four-year career in Madison, Allen totaled 8.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss.

In the 2014 NFL Draft, the Eagles selected Allen early in the 7th round. He made the team’s 53-man roster and went on to play in all but one game over a four-year stay in Philadelphia, including the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win in Minnesota over the Patriots. He would total 2.0 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits during his time in Philadelphia.

After his rookie contract expired, Allen signed as a free agent with the Buccaneers. He started 8 games during his first season in Tampa Bay, playing in 27 over his two-year stay. His role as a Buccaneer saw him more as a backup behind starters Gerald McCoy and Vita Vea. When McCoy departed for Carolina, the team signed Ndamukong Suh, keeping Allen in his backup role.

After two years in Tampa Bay, Allen signed a free agent deal with the Patriots in 2020. He was placed on injured reserve to start the season, designated to return in late-October. As Allen returned to practice to ready for his New England-debut, he suffered an injury in practice and was ruled out for the season. He was released from the team the following March.

After a year on the Patriots’ injured reserved and a year untouched on the free agent market, it appears Allen settled along the decision to retire. A seven-year career is nothing to scoff at, especially from a seventh-round pick. Adding a Super Bowl ring in the process is a nice prize to take with, as well, but leaving with your health may be the biggest take away at the end of the day.

Patriots Cut Marqise Lee, Beau Allen

The Patriots’ spending spree has pushed a handful of veterans out the door. Wide receiver Marqise Lee and defensive tackle Beau Allen have been released, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

[RELATED: Patriots’ Patrick Chung Retires]

Neither Allen nor Lee saw a regular season snap in New England. Lee signed with the Patriots in April on a one-year deal for the veteran minimum. The 29-year-old (30 in November) was expected to support a wide receiver group led by Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, and N’Keal Harry. Between the opt-out and injuries, he’s a long way removed from his best work in 2016-17, when he totaled 1,551 receiving yards for the Jaguars. Instead of bringing him back, the Patriots will release him to save less than $800K.

Allen, 29, was supposed to replace Danny Shelton after he went to Detroit. Unfortunately, an undisclosed injury kept him on the shelf all year.

Patriots DT Beau Allen Won’t Play In 2020

The Patriots have fallen to 2-5 after their fourth straight loss Sunday, and the hits keep on coming. Defensive tackle Beau Allen won’t play this season, head coach Bill Belichick announced Monday.

New England signed Allen to a two-year, $8MM deal back in March, and he won’t end up playing a down in 2020. The Patriots signed the big run-stuffer to help replace Danny Shelton, who signed with Detroit, but they placed him on injured reserve at the beginning of the season. It’s never been clear exactly what injury Allen is dealing with, and we still don’t have that information, so there’s some mystery here.

Without the projected starter the Patriots have been thin on the interior, and they’ve struggled to stop the run as a result, giving up the sixth-most rushing yards per game. A seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2014 Allen spent his first four years in Philly, winning Super Bowl LII with the team. He then signed a three-year, $15MM deal with Tampa Bay in 2018, although the last year of that contract was voided.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/20

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/20

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: TE Colin Thompson

Dallas Cowboys

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc

Seattle Seahawks

Patriots Sign DT Beau Allen

The Buccaneers famously poached Tom Brady from New England, and now the Patriots are striking back… kind of. SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter) that the Patriots are signing defensive tackle Beau Allen. It’s a two-year deal worth $8MM.

The 2014 seventh-rounder spent the first four seasons of his career with the Eagles, and he compiled a pair of tackles in Philly’s Super Bowl victory over (you guessed it) the Patriots.

He joined Tampa Bay prior to the 2018 campaign, and he started eight of his 14 games that season, finishing with 20 tackles. After reworking his contract last offseason to remove the third year from his deal, Allen took on a lesser role. He finished the season with 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks in 13 games.

Bruce Arians Talks Buccaneers’ Offseason Priorities

While impending free agent quarterback Jameis Winston may be stealing headlines, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is more focused on retaining his team’s top defenders.

“Oh, yeah. To me, it’s the whole defense,” Arians told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “You can’t get ’em all, but … those young guys grew. We can’t let that go. I don’t care who’s my quarterback. We’ve gotta have a defense.”

Outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett is the most notable defender hitting free agency, and he should be in line for a lucrative payday after compiling an NFL-high 19.5 sacks last season. Many of Barrett’s defensive teammates are also set to hit the open market, including players Jason Pierre-PaulCarl NassibNdamukong SuhBeau Allen and Rakeem Nunez-Roches.

On the offensive side of the ball, it doesn’t sound like Arians is all that concerned about who’s under center. The head coach did admit that it’s tough to have any clarity on the quarterbacks position considering the uncertainty of free agency.

“You don’t know who’s available,” Arians said. “You just sit there and wait to see, is there someone available. If not, is this a better option. That’s the problem. You get about two days to decide in the legal tampering period.”

One of the team’s options will naturally be Winston, who spent the first five seasons of his career in Tampa Bay. Winston set career-highs in passing yards (5,109) and touchdowns (33) in 2019, but he also set a career-high (and led the NFL) with 30 interceptions.

Bucs’ Beau Allen Takes Pay Cut

The Buccaneers are clearing up a little cap space. Defensive tackle Beau Allen took a $1MM pay cut, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Pelissero writes that the new agreement will further guarantee what’s left of his salary “solidify his spot on the roster” in exchange for taking the pay cut. In a follow up tweet, Pelissero notes that the $4MM remaining for this year is now fully guaranteed. He’ll also have the opportunity to earn the $1MM back through incentives.

In addition, the final year of his contract, which was supposed to run through the 2020 season, has been removed, meaning Allen will hit the open market next offseason. Tampa Bay has some of the least cap space in the league, so moves like this are crucial for them if they want to have a chance at signing anybody.

They inked Allen, formerly of the Eagles, to a three-year $15MM deal last March. In fourteen games and eight starts last season, Allen had 20 tackles while working as a run-stuffer eating up blocks. He had previously spent the first four years of his career in Philadelphia, after entering the league as a seventh round pick in 2014.

Buccaneers To Sign DL Beau Allen

Beau Allen has officially flown the nest. The former Eagles defensive lineman will sign with the Buccaneers, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth $15MM and could be worth up to $16.5MM with incentives, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter).

Allen was being pursued heavily by both the Bucs and the Lions. The Lions lost Haloti Ngata to free agency on Tuesday when he signed with the Eagles, a move that displaced Allen. Ultimately, Tampa Bay won out.

Allen, 26, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Eagles. He was extremely durable that period, as the only game he missed during his Philadelphia tenure was a meaningless Week 17 contest last season. In 2017, Allen — a one-technique tackle — appeared on roughly 41% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps. He’s PFR’s No. 6-ranked interior defender.

The Buccaneers add Allen to a group of defensive tackles that also includes Channing Ward and Stevie Tu’ikolovatuSealver Siliga and Clinton McDonald are both free agents this offseason, possibly opening the door to extended playing time for Allen. Tampa Bay allowed 117.5 yards per game on the ground last season, which ranked No. 22 in the NFL.

The Eagles took Allen in the seventh round of the 2014 draft and he’s started three games in each of the last two seasons. With acquisitions such as Ngata and Michael Bennett to an already-stellar defensive line, it became pretty clear the Eagles weren’t going to be able to retain Allen’s services.

[RELATED: Buccaneers Depth Chart]

Lions, Buccaneers In On DT Beau Allen

The Lions and Buccaneers are among the clubs with interest in free agent defensive tackle Beau Allen, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link).

This represents the first known interest in Allen, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Eagles. Allen, 26, was extremely durable that time, as the only game he missed during his Philadelphia was a meaningless Week 17 contest in 2017. Last year, Allen — a one-technique tackle by trade — appeared on roughly 41% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps. He’s PFR’s No. 6-ranked interior defender.

Detroit and Tampa Bay both ranked among the bottom half of the league in adjusted line yards, Football Outsiders‘ defensive line metric. The Lions could lose defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to either free agency or retirement, while the Buccaneers have already released fellow interior defender Chris Baker this offseason.