A longtime member of the New England Patriots is being shown the door.
Ryan Allen, a punter that began his NFL journey as an undrafted free agent of the club in 2013 before going on to win three Super Bowls with the team, has reportedly been released -- per Jim McBride of The Boston Globe. A stalwart in Foxboro, the Patriots opted to move on from Allen and will free up roughly $1.4 million in much-needed cap space in the process. Allen was set to be a free agent in 2020, after signing a one-year deal worth that amount in March.
The 29-year-old is now a free agent looking for a landing spot.
Locating a new home shouldn't be a daunting task, though, given Allen's resume.
His veteran boot has logged 18,526 yards and averages 45.3 yards per punt, with his 66-yarder in 2018 being just one yard shy of his career-best 67-yard mark set in 2014 and duplicated the very next season. Allen has 409 punts under his belt but has been blocked only twice in his six-year career, and considering field position is the name of the game in the NFL -- it's safe to assume he'll garner interest from a team or two.
The Patriots will now pass the mantle to rookie fifth-round pick Jake Bailey, who impressed at Stanford en route to landing second-team All-Pac 12 honors in both 2017 and 2018.