What Dolphins’ rivals in the AFC East are up to
Dolphins’ rivals making plenty of moves ahead of the NFL draft.
While Danny Amendola may have defected to Miami, Patriots and others are making big moves.
Taking a spin through the AFC East to see what the Dolphins’ rivals are up to in free agency and leading up to the draft:
New England Patriots
Overview: Bill Belichick has built up enough credit that he could do just about anything to his roster
and few would question it without the benefit of hindsight. Still, there is plenty going on in New England, enough that when the Patriots and Dolphins line up in the fall, Miami fans will see a new-look Patriots team in several areas.
Miami fans care most about:
The most obvious, of course, is the defection of receiver Danny Amen
dola to the Dolphins, ending a string of seasons in which he gave thePatriots a hometown discount. Amendola might not make Dolphins fans forget Jarvis Landry, but he did have 659 receiving yards last season, then caught fire in the postseason, totaling 348 yards and two touchdowns in three playoff games, including 152 yards in the Super Bowl.
New England lost running back Dion Lewis, who had 112 yards in a 35-17 victory over the Dolphins in Foxborough last season. And the Titans also raided cornerback Malcolm Butler, who experienced remarkable Super Bowl highs (game-winning interception) and lows (benching in February’s loss vs. Eagles).
And the offensive line is weakened by the Giants giving tackle
Nate Solder a contract that includes $34.8 million guaranteed the next two years.
On the plus side: As Amendola was walking out the door, in came receiver Cordarrelle Patterson via trade with the Raiders. He’ll become a key part of New England’s special teams, which could lose Matthew Slater, the AFC’s perennial Pro Bowl special teams ace who’s a free agent and talking with the Steelers.
The Patriots held onto safety Patrick Chung, a Belichick favorite. Additions include tackle Matt Tobin from the Seahawks and defensive tackle Danny Shelton from the Browns. And there’s Jason McCourty, obtained in a trade with the Browns, who could line up with twin brother Devin in the secondary.
Buffalo Bills
Overview: This team bears watching. The Bills have six draft picks in the top 100, so the chatter is they’ll make a play to move up from the 12th slot (right behind the Dolphins) for a quarterback. They’ve already climbed nine slots to No. 12 via a trade with the Bengals. The Bills have plenty of chips in front of them, with two picks in the top 22, two in Round 2 and two in Round 3.
Miami fans care a lot about: The Bills had invested heavily in their defensive line, didn’t get the results they expected, and are reshaping the line. Keep an eye on end Trent Murphy, who arrives from Washington. Murphy had nine sacks in 2016 before tearing his ACL last year. Tackle Star Lotulelei, from Carolina, will be counted on to occupy two blockers at a time.
Offensively, the Bills are moving on from their veteran center. Ryan Groy takes over for Eric Wood.
Miami fans also care a lot about: In the secondary, starting opposite cornerback Tre’Davous White, will be a familiar face: Vontae Davis, the Dolphins’ No. 1 draft pick in 2009.
Miami fans might care most about: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, kryptonite to the Dolphins, was traded to the Browns. Taylor had some of his best games against Miami, totaling 10 touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
On the plus side: With Taylor gone, the Bills had to cover themselves at quarterback, so they added free agent AJ McCarron. The ex-Alabama star started three regular-season games in four years for the Bengals.
New York Jets
Overview (and what Miami fans care most about): The team that gave us the Butt Fumble and plenty of quarterback false starts isn’t messing around. It appears the Jets will enter the 2018 season with three starting-caliber QBs to choose from:
■ There’s soon-to-be-39 Josh McCown, who had a 116.9 passer rating against the Dolphins last year.
■ There’s Miamian Teddy Bridgewater, the forgotten man who earned some rookie of the year awards in 2014, followed with a division title with the Vikings and Pro Bowl selection in 2015, then suffered a bad knee injury in August 2016.
■ And there’s the to-be-announced rookie the Jets take with the No. 3 overall pick they obtained in a trade with the Colts.
Dolphins fans should be glad the Jets couldn’t land Kirk Cousins in free agency, because the Colts trade cost New York its No. 6 overall pick and three second-round selections. Maybe the Jets’ QB of the future will be UCLA’s Josh Rosen, USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen or Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield.
Besides this March madness wrecking everybody’s mock draft board, it could encourage the Bills to leapfrog the Dolphins and a few other teams to climb out of the No. 12 slot to assure they get a quality passer.
On the plus side: The Bills also retained safety Terrence Brooks of Florida State, who won AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after making two interceptions against the Dolphins.