Details released on Dwayne Allen’s revised contract with the Patriots

On Saturday morning Joejuan Williams NFL Jersey , the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin provided the details behind Dwayne Allen’s restructured agreement to remain with the Patriots through the 2019 season.Here is how it breaks down:While this finalization of Allen’s restructure is sure to bring some closure internally to a contract situation that has been looming all offseason, its 2018 cap savings of $1.125 million does little to satisfy the portion of the Patriots’ fan base intent on eradicating all player personnel from the roster where a misalignment of publicly-perceived value and dedicated salary cap resources exists. Very plainly, the restructure signifies two things:With the Patriots utilizing two or three tight end sets around 27% of the time in 2017, Bill Belichick clearly views Dwayne Allen’s physicality along the line of scrimmage as a premium asset — one that cannot simply be replaced with a rotating carousel of street free agents and practice squad call-ups. Not only did the restructure take advantage of less than 25% of the maximum potential 2018 cap savings ($4 Joejuan Williams NFL Draft ,527,095) that could’ve been achieved by cutting Allen and replacing him with a player earning a $480,000 minimum salary, but the playing time and receptions-based incentives (details currently unspecified) allow Allen to earn back the $1.5 million in lost salary. $375 Joejuan Williams Buffalo Bills Jersey ,000 of those incentives are reportedly categorized as likely to be earned already. Presumably, this is for participating in more than 40% of the team’s offensive snaps this season — a feat Allen accomplished last year as he participated in 41.7% of such snaps. Should the veteran tight end’s 2018 season meet the required criteria to achieve the rest of his incentives, $1.125 million would be debited from the Patriots’s 2019 adjusted team cap figure.This is still a one year and we’ll see deal. However, with a productive 2018 season Color Rush Joejuan Williams Jersey , another impending “pay cut” situation — much like the one experienced this offseason — could repeat itself in the summer of 2019. While it’s almost a certainty that Allen will not be playing next season with a cap figure of $7.4 million, the Patriots could choose to pick up his $500,000 roster bonus in March with the hopes that another agreement could be reached before the regular season.Follow Brian Phillips on Twitter @BPhillips_SB Word on Thursday was that the Patriots haven’t heard anything from the NFL that would keep them from playing Antonio Brown against the Dolphins on Sunday and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change.Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the NFL will not place Brown on the Commissioner-Exempt list before this weekend’s game. There was a report earlier this week that the NFL would seriously consider doing so after a lawsuit was filed accusing Brown of rape and sexual assault.Britney Taylor filed that lawsuit and is set to be interviewed by the league next week as part of its investigation into her claims against Brown. While the rules governing the exempt list are broad enough for the league to act now, waiting until the interview allows the league to weigh the credibility of both the accusation and Brown’s denial of all charges.The league could also work to persuade the Patriots not to play Brown this week without making a move involving the exempt list Youth Joejuan Williams Jersey , although, as mentioned at the top of this post, there’s been no sign of that happening to this point.