New Dolphins Tight End Dwayne Allen: 'Hopefully I Can Be An Agent Of Change'
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DAVIE (CBSMiami) — The Miami Dolphins' first addition of the offseason is at a position that was extremely lacking in 2018.
Over the weekend Miami agreed to terms with tight end Dwayne Allen two-year contract worth $7 million.
Allen spent the past two seasons with the New England Patriots, who he helped to win Super Bowl LIII last month in Atlanta.
He started 16 regular season games with the Patriots during his time there, though his use was primarily as a blocker.
Allen left New England making just 13 receptions for 113 yards, but over his seven-year career he has accumulated 139 catches and 20 touchdowns.
"I don't do the play-calling, so I don't have to explain that at all," he said when asked about having just 13 receptions in two years with the Patriots. "Once you sign on to be part of a team, you're a part of that team. [You're] not just a part of that team if the ball comes my way or if I play as much as I want to. You sign on to be part of a team and with that, the play-caller does the play-calling and the players are expected to go out there and execute. Opportunities [were] available to me. I, of course, didn't catch 100 percent of the opportunities, so that would have taken my numbers up a bit. I've tried to make the most out of the opportunities that did come my way."
Allen spent the first five years of his career with the Indianapolis Colts after they selected him in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
In 2014 he made 29 receptions for 395 yards and 8 touchdowns in 13 games. Allen's best year came in 2016 when he reeled in 35 catches for 406 yards, adding 6 scores.
Allen pointed to his experience, both on and off the field, as areas he could help Miami.
"I would like to say that I'm a positive presence in the locker room," said Allen. "I definitely know how culture is developed and enforced by the players in the locker room. The vision of it is of course set by the head coach and then is reinforced by the guys in the locker room, and hopefully I can be an agent of change in that respect."
Last season, rookie Mike Gesicki led all Dolphins tight ends in receptions with 22. Fellow rookie Durham Smythe added six receptions.
Miami selected Gesicki in the second round of last year's draft while Smythe was taken at the end of the fourth round.
Both are expected to be contributors in Miami's tight end room and Allen knows he can assist the young players in multiple ways.
"I think the best way to help is by showing them," Allen said of working with Gesicki and Smythe. "When rookies come into this league, due to their limited experience, I would guess – I haven't had time to talk to them or really watch film of them – that they are unsure how to be a professional in this league. Hopefully through my consistency day in and day out, I can show them how to be a professional in this league and maybe also how to play the tight end position a little differently."
