8 AFC East stories from last week for Bills fans to know
You’re probably all on top of the latest news surrounding the Buffalo Bills and we hope Bills Wire helped you get there. But let us keep you up to date with the Bills news, just outside the Bills’ realm.
The upcoming 2020 NFL season has many thinking the Bills are the favorite in the AFC East. But Buffalo isn’t just going to stroll into that title. The Dolphins, Jets, and of course the Patriots, will all have something to say about that.
So let’s stay on top of some of the latest headlines surrounding the Bills’ divisional foes now. Here are eight news stories from the other three AFC East teams from the last week right here:
New York Jets
Jets kicker Sam Ficken. Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Kicking battle still up in the air
Sam Ficken or Brett Maher? The Bills have a kicking battle of their own going on in training camp, but its to be between two guys that are pretty talented. Drafted rookie Tyler Bass and long-time NFL kicker Stephen Hauschka. The Jets on the other hand have two lesser-known prospects going at it, Brett Maher and Sam Ficken.
In recent years, the Jets have had huge kicker struggles. Since releasing Nick Folks, Gang Green hasn’t figured that position out. So far through their training camp, who’s the front runner? Jets Wire reports things are “neck-and-neck” between the two at camp.
“Sam and Brett are doing a very nice job,” special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said. “I see this coming down to the end here.”
If you recall, now former Jets and Bills kicker Kaare Vedvik had a brutal Week 1 against Buffalo in 2019, handing the Bills the win. Who do the Jets play in Week 1 in 2020? The Bills… again.
New York Jets
New York Jets former running back Curtis Martin. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
A bold prediction
Former Jets running back and Hall of Famer Curtis Martin has a massive prediction for his previous long-time employer.
Many predict the Jets near the bottom of the AFC East. In fact, most peg the division as a two-horse race between the Bills and Patriots. Not how Martin is seeing it. He thinks the Jets will make the playoffs in 2020.
“I’m actually expecting them to at least be in the playoffs this year,” Martin told Jets Wire. “I’m glad that Sam Darnold has another year under his belt because I think he has all the qualities to be a very special quarterback in this league.”
Martin also predicted big things from former Bills running back Frank Gore: “Le’Veon (Bell) is the shiftier, kind of pick-your-hole running back. And I think that Frank Gore is a great one-two punch. I think that they make a great combination.”
We’ll see about all that… a pretty lofty bar set here.
New York Jets
New York Jets’ Breshad Perriman. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A couple of injury notes
The Jets has had some string of injuries through the start of training camp, as many teams, such as the Bills, have had. The biggest name is clearly wide receiver Breshad Perriman.
The team’s potential new No. 1 wideout sat out practice due to a knee injury. Along with Perriman, rookie receiver Denzel Mims (hamstring) has missed time. This is bad news for quarterback Sam Darnold, too. If Buffalo’s Josh Allen has something to prove, Darnold has a mountain to climb after his first few years in the NFL. Certainly Darnold’s struggles aren’t all on him, but getting on the same page as your receiving, especially during a pandemic, is pretty important. Any time missed for those two is a big thing.
But the Jets also got some positive updates in the last week as well. Jets linebacker Avery Williamson has returned to practicing after missing an entire year with an ACL injury in 2019. Williamson was injured last preseason when he was left in a game late. With linebacker CJ Mosley opting out, Williamson will be a pivotal piece to the Jets defense. In addition, tight end Ryan Griffin (ankle) was activated off the PUP list as well. Griffin was the Jets’ best tight end last season.
New England Patriots
New England Patriots tight end Dalton Keene. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)
Rookie TEs emerging?
The Patriots having the best tight ends in football is now a thing of the past. In 2020, it’s a bit of a mishmash of players at the position for the Pats, the Bills will have to be on their toes in regard to who they’ll end up having to cover. Fortunately for Buffalo, they won’t see the Patriots until the second half of their 2020 season, so there will be plenty of tape out there on whoever their starters are.
But recently in training camp, Patriots Wire has reported that a few rookies, Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, are making a good push for playing time:
After getting significant tough love on Friday for their mistakes, Asiasi and Keene put together strong work on Monday. Asiasi logged a handful of catches, but with the team focusing more heavily on the running game, Keene’s contributions came into clearer focus. He was meeting linebackers at the line of scrimmage to make room for runners Damien Harris, Rex Burkhead and J.J. Taylor.
But the two tight ends aren’t one-trick ponies. Asiasi showed his blocking abilities when he planted linebacker Caash Maluia on his back to make space for Harris. And Keene was notorious for his abilities after the catch in college. They can each do a little bit of everything, even if they have their strengths.
New England Patriots
Patriots kicker Nick Folk. Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
More AFC East kicker news
Over the weekend the Patriots hosted kicker Nick Folk on a free agent visit. Following that, the Pats decided to re-sign the 35-year-old. Folk appeared in seven games for the Patriots last season as a replacement for Stephen Gostkowski, who had a hip injury that landed him on injured reserve. Folk was 16-of-19 on field goals and 13-of-13 on extra points during that span in New England. One of those misses was blocked, too. Gostkowski was released earlier this offseason.
In an interesting twist, Folk is not the only kicker on the Patriots roster. New England selected Marshall’s Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round of the recent draft. So now it looks like at least on paper that the Patriots and Bills have a similar kicking battle going on: Vet versus rook.
But there’s speculation that Rohrwasser is battling some sort of undisclosed injury. He hasn’t been seen at practices very much. But as Sean McDermott often does as well: Can’t give your opponent an inch, even if it’s just your kicker.
New England Patriots
Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
So does Stidham… stink?
The Patriots entered training camp with a quarterback battle. Something that was unheard of for two decades (Thanks for leaving, Tom). The fight is now between former MVP Cam Newton and essential rookie Jarrett Stidham. For Newton, health is his main concern and if he stays upright, it’s expected he’ll start.
But even so, Stidham hasn’t had a good start to training camp in the slightest. Over the first two or three days of training camp practices, Stidham notched at least six interceptions during 11-on-11 team drills. That’s not good… at all. And a big cause for concern if the Patriots were seriously considering starting him.
Shortly after concerns started to be floated out there about his abilities, it was revealed he has been battling a leg injury, of sorts, per reports. Stidham, a 2019 fourth-round draft pick, really will need to turn things around if he’s going to have any chance to win any sort of positional battle, let alone one amid the coronavirus pandemic. Again, the Bills don’t play the Patriots until halfway through the upcoming season though, so who knows what could be happening at QB for the Pats by then?
Miami Dolphins
Dolphins defensive end Curtis Weaver. Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Injuries adding up early
On paper the Dolphins roster has drastically improved from 2019. But that’s not really saying much because it was so bad a year ago. The one thing that may hurt? Well… the hurt. Miami’s got some early injuries in training camp. Here’s a rundown via Dolphins Wire:
Rookie 5th round DE Curtis Weaver: Cut due to foot injury, could end up on Miami’s IR.
DL Vince Biegel: Out for season due to torn Achilles.
LB Jerome Baker: Undisclosed injury, day-to-day.
LB Kyle Van Noy: Left Monday’s practice early, undisclosed injury.
RB Patrick Laird: Undisclosed, day-to-day.
Rookie 1st round CB Noah Igbinoghene: Did not finish practice Monday.
Miami Dolphins
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Stidham bad… Tua good?
We got the latest Patriots news about their quarterback situation. How about the latest Dolphins updates? It’s been an interesting few days in South Beach, reportedly. According to reports out of the most-recent Dolphins practice, rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had his best practice of training camp. During team drills, Tagovailoa tossed three total touchdown passes, really impressing his teammates in the process, per Dolphins Wire.
But here’s the twist: recent reports from last week also indicated that the Dolphins plan to start quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick early this season. Not only is this important to note because of the obvious AFC East connections, but the Bills and Dolphins first meet in Week 2. It’s likely the Week 1 starter will be under center for that game.
You know, that same game Sean McDermott got mad about on Monday because the Dolphins will allow fans to attend it? We’ll link both of those recent Dolphins updates below (we already wrote about Fitzpatrick and the crowd situation):
