New England Patriots defensive tackle Beau Allen's season has ended before it even began.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Allen "won't play this year" when asked about the offseason addition's status.
Allen passed his physical but suffered an injury between the start of training camp on Aug. 12 and when reporters were allowed to watch practice Aug. 17. He began the season on injured reserve and was designated to return Oct. 21.
Allen suffered a setback on a leg injury last week, a league source told The Boston Globe's Jim McBride.
Belichick said Allen "won't be ready to play" this season.
The Patriots signed Allen to a two-year, $8 million contract this offseason as their top free-agent addition. New England doesn't have another prototypical nose tackle on their roster.
Belichick sidestepped a question when asked if the Patriots need to add more depth or size in the middle of their defense.
"We need to do a lot of things better defensively, offensively and in the kicking game," Belichick said. "So, we'll continue to work on all of those areas and try to improve them. So, yeah. We can get better at everything -- coaching, playing, offense, defense, special teams. All areas."
The Patriots are left with Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, Byron Cowart, Nick Thurman and Carl Davis on their defensive tackle depth chart. They also have Bill Murray on their practice squad.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday if the Patriots want to acquire a nose tackle to boost their struggling run defense that allowed 190 yards Sunday in their Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
