The New England Patriots quickly bounced back from losing Danny Shelton on Wednesday.
New England signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Beau Allen on a two-year, $8 million deal. This came just hours after the Detroit Lions signed Shelton on a two-year, $8 million deal.
Allen’s 6-foot-3, 328 frame will allow him to slide seamlessly into Shelton’s role as a run stopper. He began his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles for four seasons and spent his last two years with Tampa Bay. Allen was on the Eagles’ roster when they took down the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
The Patriots were thin at defensive tackle last season and now they’re down to Allen, Lawrence Guy and Byron Cowart. New England placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Adam Butler, with the idea he’ll be back in Foxborough this season.
Allen had a tough season last year after playing a career-low 16 percent of snaps, recording only 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit. Pro Football Focus did give him a 73.9 grade as a run defender though. He was much more productive in the four seasons prior to last, so the Patriots will have some work to do over the offseason to get him back on top of his game.
Interestingly enough, he has some experience playing at fullback. The Patriots lost linebacker Elandon Roberts to the Detroit Lions — losing their de facto fullback last year. Roberts stepped up in place of injuries, and it’s great to know Allen has experience if he’s needed. He also is a solid special teams contributor.
The Patriots still need to add some pieces on the defensive line, but Allen will be capable of clogging up the middle and helping get the team’s run defense up to par.
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