Free Agency Breakdown – AFC East
Free agency can be a fickle exercise for many players and teams alike, with the dominant players signing right out of the gate after which the rest of the crowd winds up playing a waiting game to see how much money they can get or keep, depending on your point of view.
The AFC East could go either way when it comes to strong plays in the coming free agent frenzy, as teams with money will likely be early buyers while teams without the cash could sit back and wait for the scraps to fall from the table.
With that in mind, here is the list of free agents in the AFC East, sorted out by team and then alphabetically by the player’s last name. I’ve also added a quick analysis for each team.
* denotes restricted free agent
** denotes franchise player
Buffalo Bills
Key Cotributors
LB Angelo Crowell, CB Jabari Greer, LB Keith Ellison*, QB J.P. Losman
Expendable assets
FB Darian Barnes*, OL Kirk Chambers, LB John DiGiorgio*, OL Melvin Fowler, QB Gibran Hamdan*, WR Justin Jenkins*, QB Grant Noel, OL Duke Preston, OG Jason Whittle, S George Wilson*
First impression
The Bills are likely to try and resign both Crowell and Greer to stick around on defense, but with the offensive firepower they’ve accumulated, they’ll probably be okay with letting Losman to hit the road in search of a starting job without a fight. Other than that, the Bills have the salary cap space to be fairly decent players this off-season, but will they decide to spend it or hang onto it like Uncle Scrooge instead?
Miami Dolphins
Key Contributors
OT Vernon Carey, CB Andre Goodman, RB Patrick Cobbs*, S Yeremiah Bell
Expendable Assets
LB Channing Crowder, S Renaldo Hill, WR Tab Perry
First Impression
The Dolphins have the look of a solidly built franchise, in need of two or three key players to really push them over the top, so I doubt they’ll be going all out to sign as many guys as possible when free agency starts up in two weeks.Look for them to try and resign their key guys and maybe load up for a run at Ray Lewis to fortify the middle of their defense instead.
New England Patriots
Key contributors
QB Matt Cassel**
Expendable Assets
LB Eric Alexander*, OT Wesley Britt*, FB Heath Evans, WR Jabar Gaffney, P Chris Hanson, S Rodney Harrison, OG Russ Hochstein, LB Larry Izzo, RB LaMont Jordan, CB Deltha O’Neal, DB Lewis Sanders, S James Sanders, DT Kenny Smith, OT Barry Stokes, DB Tank Williams, LB Pierre Woods*, DE Mike Wright
First Impression
The Patriots are headed into uncharted waters this off-season, as they have very little cash to spend in free agency and a boatload of role players headed out of town. None of their free agents will make a major difference anywhere they go, but to lose so many could put a sizable chink in New England’s armor.
Locking down backup QB Matt Cassel with the franchise offer could give them the draft picks they crave, but if no one bites, they’ll be stuck holding the bag with a $14.5 million dollar signal caller riding the bench.
New York Jets
Key Contributors
LB Eric Barton, K Mike Nugent, DB Ahmad Carroll, S Abram Elam*
Expendable Assets
RB Jesse Chatman, K Jay Feely, TE Bubba Franks, DT C.J. Mosley, DB Hank Poteat, FB Tony Richardson, LB Cody Spencer
First Impression
The Jets will be one of the only teams in the division to really make a strong push for some of the major free agents that will be available this off-season, with new head coach Rex Ryan looking to bring over one or more of his former LBs in Baltimore to play for him in New York.
That being said, they still have major question marks on offense, especially now that QB Brett Favre has finally called it quits, so they’ll have to do something big on that side if they want to get back into the playoffs next season.
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