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The New England Patriots released TE Dwayne Allen, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, freeing up a lot of cap space for the upcoming free agency period.
Patriots have informed tight end Dwayne Allen that they are releasing him, per source. They have expressed an interest in signing him back for less money, but he will be free.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 2, 2019
Allen had a $6.9 million base salary for the 2019 season, far too much money for what he brought to the table. When you factor in his $406,250 roster bonus, his release opens up $7.3 million in cap space.
With the new salary cap limit, the Patriots will now have roughly $25 million in cap space.
The Patriots could still bring back Allen, who is a capable blocker, but it would certainly be for less money than what he was slated to earn. New England was always going to try and upgrade the tight end position because Rob Gronkowski is at the end of his career, and now tight end is a greater need.
But most importantly, the Patriots now have plenty of cap space to try and retain their long list of important free agents.