FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Whether the New England Patriots' acquisition of tight end Dwayne Allen works out remains to be seen, but one thing that requires no more time to analyze is that the club gets credit for its resourcefulness.
Without it, the deal that sent Allen and a sixth-round pick to New England for a fourth-round pick might not have happened.
The Patriots, of course, were supposed to be without a fourth-round pick as part of the NFL's Deflategate penalties. Ironically, it was Allen -- then of the Indianapolis Colts, the Patriots' opponent in the AFC Championship Game that sparked Deflategate -- who publicly said it was a non-factor.