According to ProFootballTalk, the Indianapolis Colts are keeping tight end Dwayne Allen on a four-year deal.
The NFL legal tampering window is officially open and it’s been a wild day in the NFL on Monday. There have been reported trades and rumors flying all over the place and now there’s reports about the tight end market in free agency. With a very dry free agency market and draft class at the tight end spot, Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen was going to be in high demand in free agency.
However, it doesn’t look like Allen will be going anywhere. According to ProFootballTalk, the Indianapolis Colts will be keeping Allen on a four-year deal.
Wow: Colts keep TE Dwayne Allen, per source. Four-year deal.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 8, 2016
It's a four-year, $29.4M deal for Colts TE Dwayne Allen, with $12M paid out in year one, $17M through year two. He had 16 catches last year.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 8, 2016
The move doesn’t come as too much of a surprise considering that the market for tight ends is thin right now and the Colts would have a hard time replacing him with depth if he left. Allen’s numbers were down in 2015, but most of that can be attributed to the fact that he only played 13 games and the Colts were without Andrew Luck for most of the season.
With Luck coming back and the Colts looking to bounce back into a playoff contender, keeping Allen around makes sense for them. The fact that they kept him on a four-year deal certainly means that they see him as a long term option in Indianapolis. Perhaps this could prompt a move with tight end Coby Fleener somewhere else.