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3 Patriots players who could be camp cuts for financial reasons

By Patrick Morgan

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Rex Burkhead #34 of the New England Patriots looks on before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Rex Burkhead #34 of the New England Patriots looks on before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 01: Beau Allen #91 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on during the fourth quarter of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on December 01, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 01: Beau Allen #91 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on during the fourth quarter of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on December 01, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

Beau Allen

On the surface, it might seem strange to list Beau Allen here … especially since he just arrived in Foxborough only a few months ago.

Allen is the natural replacement for Danny Shelton, who signed with the Lions in free agency. The former Buccaneer/Eagle is an athletic, big-bodied defensive tackle who excels at plugging gaps and stopping the rush.

Again, it might seem odd to consider Allen a logical candidate to get cut for financial reasons since the ink is still drying on his contract — but the Patriots have shown a ruthless tendency to cut veterans before they’ve ever played a regular season snap before.

Consider that just over the past five or six seasons, Belichick has signed and then released talented veterans like Kony Ealy, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jordan Matthews, and others.

Some of those releases were for injury reasons, but some of them were also simply a case of other players on the New England roster outplaying the more “established names” during training camp and/or the preseason.

Allen will probably be able to hold onto a starting defensive tackle spot alongside Lawrence Guy and Adam Butler, but keep in mind that Allen is starting a two-year contract worth about $7 million (could reach up to $8 million in incentives).

Byron Cowart, Courtney Wallace, Nick Coe, Bill Murray … they’re all on much more team-friendly deals currently, and could potentially usurp Allen’s spot if they come on strong this summer.

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