Only one week has passed since the start of free agency and the landscape of the AFC East has changed dramatically. Each team took a different approach to free agency. The Miami Dolphins went on a spending spree. The New England Patriots made noise with the departure of Wes Welker, among other moves. The New York Jets dumped a big chunk of their payroll, leaving the team with many holes to fill. The Buffalo Bills hardly made any moves at all. Who improved the most in the first week of free agency?
Buffalo Bills
New Additions: Manny Lawson
Staying Put: Leodis McKelvin, Mike Caussin, Dorin Dickerson, Bryan Scott, Jairus Byrd
Gone: Chad Rinehart, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Levitre, Shawne Merriman, Nick Barnett, George Wilson, Terrence McGee, Donald Jones
The Bills' only signing, Manny Lawson, addresses a weak spot at linebacker. Lawson's experience will help shore up the Buffalo defense. The Bills biggest move was the release of starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills have given Fitzpatrick plenty of opportunities to prove himself but has never lived up to expectations. The departures of Andy Levitre and Chad Rinehart mean the Bills must acquire a new left guard and a decent backup. The Bills lack of action has many fans puzzled. The Bills must find a quarterback in a weak quarterback market.
New York Jets
New Additions: Antonio Garay, Willie Colon, Mike Goodson, David Garrard
Staying Put: Nick Folk, Austin Howard, Lex Hilliard, Josh Mauga, Jeff Cumberland
Gone: Dustin Keller, LaRon Landry, Yeremiah Bell, Shonn Greene, Mike DeVito, Sione Po'uha, Calvin Pace, Bart Scott, Bryan Thomas, Eric Smith, Jason Smith
The Jets have been busy dumping payroll like no other. Gone are 10 starters from last year’s squad. The bold moves have relieved nearly $32 million off the salary cap. This has allowed them to make a few minor signings but the Jets did not have enough cap space to re-sign Mike DeVito. The Garay signing helps fill the void left by DeVito’s departure.
Losing Keller could be a huge blow for the Jets. Keller was the favorite target of quarterback Mark Sanchez. The departure of so many players leaves many questions unanswered for New York. It will be interesting to see how they intend to fill so many holes. Stay tuned.
New England Patriots
New Additions: Will Svitek, Adrian Wilson, Donald Jones, Leon Washington, Danny Amendola
Staying Put: Aqib Talib, Kyle Arrington, Michael Hoomanawanui, Niko Koutouvides
Gone: Danny Woodhead, Wes Welker, Patrick Chung, Donald Thomas
The biggest move for New England was the departure of Welker. Amendola is built similar to Welker but is injury prone. The Patriots are experts at finding key role players for their offense. Letting Welker walk was a risky move but don’t forget the Patriots still boast the likes of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. There should be little drop off with the addition of Amendola. Amendola is no stranger to the slot position, but lacks the speed to line up outside. Signing wide receiver Donald Jones provides the Patriots dual threats that can line up in different areas of the field.
The return of Aqib Talib and Kyle Arrington will allow for the continued development of their shaky pass coverage. The Patriots scored big by retaining Talib. He was a solid contributor in the secondary last season. All the attention will be focused on Welker and Amendola but don’t be surprised if the other key acquisitions for the Patriots payoff once the new season begins.
Miami Dolphins
New Additions: Brandon Gibson, Dustin Keller, Philip Wheeler, Dannell Ellerbe, Mike Wallace
Staying Put: Chris Clemons, Randy Starks, Brian Hartline, Matt Moore, Pat Devlin, RJ Stanford, Austin Spitler
Gone: Jake Long, Sean Smith, Reggie Bush, Kevin Burnett, Karlos Dansby, Anthony Fasano
The Dolphins made a statement in the first week of free agency by signing some big time free agents. Adding the speedster Mike Wallace gives the Dolphins a deep threat they desperately needed. The Dolphins have completely revamped their receiving corp. Wallace's speed could also help open things up over the middle.
The Dolphins have also have gotten younger at the linebacker position. Replacing Dansby and Burnett with Wheeler and Ellerbe gives the Dolphins a much faster linebacker group. Perhaps the biggest loss for the Dolphins was losing Pro Bowler Jake Long. The Dolphins did not want to overpay for an injury prone left tackle so they let Long walk. The move leaves a gaping hole in the offensive line that Miami will need to address before the season begins. The Signing of tight end Dustin Keller was a good move. Tannehill lacked a reliable weapon at tight end. Fasano is a better blocker than Keller but Keller is a more dangerous weapon in the passing game.
Miami improved their team in many ways but they still have issues that are unaddressed. They lost cornerback Sean Smith to the Chiefs. The Dolphins have lost both starting cornerbacks in less than one year. They must find help for the secondary before the start of the season. The Super Bowl is not played in March but don’t tell the Dolphins that.