Patriots' Beau Allen: Practices with team Wednesday

Allen (undisclosed) returned to practice Wednesday, indicating the start of his 21-day window to be activated from IR, Mike Dussault of the Patriots' official site reports.

Allen was in line to start at defensive tackle for the Patriots this year before he suffered an injury in training camp. It's unclear if the Wisconsin product will be ready for Sunday's game against the 49ers, but it shouldn't be long before he's back in the fold. Allen could be an immediate boost to a run defense that has allowed 119 rushing yards per game this year.