HEADLINE

Patriots release punter Allen after six seasons

Field Level Media

August 20, 2019 at 12:25 am.

The New England Patriots are releasing punter Ryan Allen, according to multiple reports on Monday.

The Boston Globe reported that Allen lost a position battle with rookie punter Jake Bailey, whom the Patriots chose with a fifth-round draft pick in 2019.

The 29-year-old Allen, who has been with New England for six seasons and signed a one-year deal in March, leaves with three Super Bowl rings.

Bailey began holding for kicker Stephen Gostkowski in practice, and also was the holder for Gostkowski in Saturday’s preseason victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Last season, Allen averaged 45.1 yards per punt. Over his six seasons, he has averaged 45.3 yards per punt. An undrafted free agent in 2013, Allen beat out veteran Zoltan Mesko to become the Patriots punter.

Bailey, 22, has played in two preseason games and has punted once in each — for 45 yards vs. the Detroit Lions and 54 yards vs. the Titans.

“Jake’s got a lot to learn,” said head coach Bill Belichick last week when asked about Bailey. “He has talent. He has done a number of different things from punting to holding to kicking off. Again, there’s a lot of situational things that fall within those areas of responsibility. We’re working our way through some of those and we’ll see how it goes.”