Dwayne

Allen

Allen sat out most of training camp with a knee injury and, despite seeing a handful of preseason reps, may not be fully recovered. There was some thought that Allen, who followed former Patriots assistant Brian Flores to Miami this offseason, might be poised to start for the Dolphins, but clearly that didn’t come to fruition. His release comes as excellent news for 2018 second-rounder Mike Gesicki, who should be in line for heavy snaps at tight end.

Allen spent 10 days on PUP but is now cleared from whatever ailment sidelined him. The 29-year-old is expected to be the Dolphins’ starting tight end this season, with Mike Gesicki also playing heavy snaps in year two. Word out of camp is Gesicki continues to struggle with his blocking, an area where Allen is proficient.

All three can be activated at any time. Allen signed a two-year deal with Dolphins this offseason and is expected to operate as the second tight end behind Mike Gesicki. The veteran tight end is off the fantasy radar. The Dolphins also claimed OL Will Holden off waivers and waived cornerback Jamar Summers.

Allen had interest from multiple teams after his Patriots release. The Dolphins are counting on a second-year leap from Mike Gesicki, but Allen should slot in as the primary in-line tight end ahead of Nick O’Leary. 29-year-old Allen could have a larger pass game role with Miami after being limited to blocking in New England.

Allen had a Lions visit on Thursday. He has also visited the Bills and Ravens.

If he escapes Buffalo, the Lions will welcome Allen to Detroit for a visit Wednesday evening. Allen, 29, surely wants to have a deal in place before the rest of the free agent tight ends hit the market next week. He visited the Ravens on Tuesday.

According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, he will visit the Bills after that, assuming the Ravens do not sign him to a deal. Baltimore’s interest in Allen is a bit odd considering they drafted two tight ends in the first three rounds last season, have massive needs at receiver and several defensive stars to re-sign, and have relatively little cap space. That said, both Nick Boyle and Maxx Williams are headed to free agency, so they could use a blocking complement to the young guys.

Allen was officially released by the Patriots on Monday. He just turned 29 last week. Never used as a pass-catcher in New England, Allen has that in his arsenal dating back to his Colts days but may be more of a blocker at this stage of his career.

This doesn’t come as a surprise — Allen played just 32 percent of snaps last year and missed three games to injury. His release saves the Patriots $7.3 million. New England hasn’t ruled out bringing back Allen at a lower salary.

An extra offensive lineman at this stage of his career, Allen caught three passes in 2018. Due $6.4 million in 2019, Allen will have to take a pay cut for the second-consecutive year to have any shot at maintaining his 53-man roster spot.