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The New England Patriots are getting rid of Troy Niklas

By Sam Minton

GLENDALE, AZ - AUGUST 12: Tight end Troy Niklas #87 of the Arizona Cardinals in action during the NFL game against the Oakland Raiders at the University of Phoenix Stadium on August 12, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Raiders 20-10. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - AUGUST 12: Tight end Troy Niklas #87 of the Arizona Cardinals in action during the NFL game against the Oakland Raiders at the University of Phoenix Stadium on August 12, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Raiders 20-10. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The New England Patriots released tight end Troy Niklas on Tuesday. It appears the Patriots are liking what they are seeing from Dwayne Allen.

Tight end Troy Niklas didn’t even make it past training camp. Field Yates reported on Friday afternoon that the New England Patriots are moving on from the former Arizona Cardinal.

The Patriots signed Niklas in April and he appeared to have a chance to compete for the backup tight end job. Dwayne Allen had a less than stellar season last year, so the opportunity was there, but it seems that things didn’t work out for Niklas.

Niklas is a pass blocking tight end. He isn’t like Rob Gronkowski who can be relied upon to come down with a catch. In 4 seasons, Niklas only has 19 receptions for 203 yards.

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The Patriots may also have had other reasons for releasing Niklas, because they signed former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Paul Turner.

Turner played has only played in 4 games and has 9 catches for 126 yards. This move seems to be in response to the Julian Edelman suspension. With Edelman out, the Patriots can’t have enough wide receivers.

This will be an opportunity for Turner to show he has the skills to stay in the NFL. He didn’t play last season and this could be his last shot in the league.

So it appears Dwayne Allen will be Gronk’s backup. Allen has been working on becoming more of a threat in the passing game, and it appears to be working out. At practice on Friday, Allen finished off the day with 6 of Tom Brady’s last 11 completions.

Last season Allen had 10 catches for 86 yards. If he can become a serious threat in the passing game the Patriots offense will have as many targets as a shooting range. Allen will hopefully be able to take some of the pressure off Gronkowski who will be opposing defenses main focus for the first 4 games of the season.

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It may just be a random move in July, but Niklas’s release will have an effect on the Patriots this season.

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