Patriots reportedly releasing punter Ryan Allen

By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com

It took just two weeks for the Patriots to officially name the winner of their training camp battle at punter, as Ryan Allen has been released, according to the Boston Globe's Jim McBride.

Allen's release comes on the heels of veteran wideout Julian Edelman being officially activated off New England's non-football injury list, and with wide receiver Josh Gordon returning to the team facilities on Monday.

It's also the fallout of a punting competition that's clearly favored rookie Jake Bailey.

Drafted in the fifth round in 2019, Bailey has outperformed Allen this preseason, averaging 49.5 yards (and plenty of hang time) on his two punts this preseason while Allen averaged 43.8 yards on his five punts through two preseason games.

Undrafted out of Louisiana Tech, Allen beat out Zoltan Mesko for New England's punter gig in 2013, and spent the next six seasons with the Patriots, winning three Super Bowl championships in Patriot Blue. Allen established a career-high in punting average in his second season (46.4 yards), and actually came within one yard of matching his career-high of a 67-yard punt (twice) by way of a 66-yard punt in a Nov. 11 loss to the Titans last season.

Allen certainly made his last game in a Patriot uniform count, too, as he was fantastic in Super Bowl LIII, hammering five punts for an average of 43 yards and three times pinning the Rams inside their 20 en route to a 13-3 victory.