Gotta think he’d be asked to restructure. If so, it would be nice to keep him. If not, it’s a tough sell at that kind of cap hit—in my opinion. Of course, only Belichick knows whether or not we could get by without him and his blocking.
Blocking TEs, at almost any price, have typically been a "tough sell" to most fans. Hooman was a perennial "tough sell". Most fans seem to think that guys who can master the Pats blocking schemes and line calls are as easy to acquire as picking up a six-pack of cheap swill at the local convenience mart and should cost about the same. They either aren't aware or don't remember how many blocking TEs the Pats have gone through during the off-season over the years trying to find one who "gets it" and can stick.
Also, if that "#3/blocking TE" is paid much more than the NFL minimum, then he damn well better immediately be capable of catching a couple passes per game and producing a few TDs - or he's grossly overpaid.
Most fans don't seem to understand that it's guys like Hooman and Allen (and an OL filled with very good run-blockers) that allow the Pats to generate a ground game that's sufficient to support the passing game using only (cheaper and easier to acquire) 2nd-tier/3rd-tier RBs, and RBs who are more receiver than runner.
A couple three months ago, BB was asked about Allen in a presser. BB went a bit beyond his typical "works hard; does everything we ask" boilerplate, noting how much more difficult it is for new TEs in the Pats offense because they need to learn everything about the blocking schemes that an OL does, PLUS everything that the receivers do about the passing schemes, and then praising Allen for how "great" he's been and how quickly he's picked things up.
Allen's current contract is:
- 2018 (turns 28): $4.5M salary ... $500k weekly roster bonuses
- 2019 (turns 29): $6.9M salary ... $500k weekly roster bonuses
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Zero guaranteed.
My guess is that the Pats would restructure via an extension, probably 2 years, through age 31. The net result might be 4 years for $14M-$15M, with $5M guaranteed ($4M signing bonus + $1M 2018 salary). Something like:
- 2018: $1.0M salary ... $1M bonus ... $500k weekly ($2.5M cap)
- 2019: $2.0M salary ... $1M bonus ... $500k weekly ($3.5M cap)
- 2020: $2.5M salary ... $1M bonus ... $500k weekly ($4.0M cap)
- 2021: $3.0M salary ... $1M bonus ... $500k weekly ($4.5M cap)
There would probably be some incentive bonuses based on Allen achieving certain receiving benchmarks that could add another $500k to $1M per season. There might also be 3rd-year and 4th-year team-option roster bonuses of $1M-$2M.