AFC East Thread

Kenyan Drake’s agents announced that their client has signed with the AFC South team. The Colts also signed undrafted rookie Toriano Clinton this week.

Drake ran 109 times for 482 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games for the Ravens last season. He’s also played for the Raiders, Cardinals, and Dolphins since entering the league as a 2016 third-round pick in Miami.

Taylor is on the PUP list and has asked the team to trade him because there has not been progress toward a new contract. Moss broke his arm in practice this week, so Drake, Clinton, Evan Hull, Jake Funk, and Deon Jackson are the current backs in Indy.

 

Report for NE has an evaluation of the team:

“Stink, stant an stunk,” is how Giardi described the Patriots’ current group of wide receivers. He added, “None of them are 1s, none of them are 2s, and maybe, just maybe, none of them are 3s.”


That is certainly a hot take from the Patriots reporter, who was not shy about sharing his opinion on the players. It certainly wasn’t from a lack of trying, as the Patriots were in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes right to the very end before the Tennessee Titans nabbed him.
While many people would agree that New England is lacking a true No. 1 receiver, they have shown in the past that they can succeed without one. But, most of that past also included having Tom Brady under center, not Jones.

With Bill Belichick’s job reportedly on the line, he is going to have to figure out a way to whip these receivers into shape and perform better on the field. If things are as dire as Giardi has painted them out to be, 2023 could be a rough season for the Patriots’ offense.

 

Elliott is expected to sign with the Patriots on a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, according to NFL Media. Elliott has been on the market since the Cowboys released him in March. He recently had a workout with the Patriots that apparently went well enough for the club to sign him.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2016 draft, Elliott rushed for 8,262 yards in his seven seasons with Dallas. He twice led the league in rushing — as a rookie in 2016 and again in 2018. Last season, Elliott averaged just 3.8 yards per carry in 15 games. He rushed for 876 yards while Tony Pollard led the team with 1,007 yards on 38 fewer attempts.

Elliott joins a Patriots backfield led by Rhamondre Stevenson, who tallied 1,040 yards rushing with five touchdowns in 2022. New England also has Pierre Strong, J.J. Taylor, Kevin Harris, and CJ Marable on their roster at running back.

 

Saleh goes off on Jets O Lineman:

This week’s episode of Hard Knocks included a look at the Jets’ joint practice with the Panthers last week and Jets head coach Robert Saleh’s response to how the team’s offensive line fared in that session.

Carolina’s defensive front got the better of the Jets during that session and cameras were in the team’s meeting room when Saleh dressed down the offensive line. Saleh said that the Jets “proved last year that we’re a 7-10 football team with a really ****ing good defense and a mediocre offense” and that the addition of Aaron Rodgers and presence of other talented skill position players isn’t going to change that if the team’s linemen don’t do their part.

“Offense, it was our first ****ing opportunity to change the stink that’s been in this organization for a very long time on the offensive side of the ball,” Saleh said. “You can have a Hall of Fame quarterback. You can have two $10 million-plus receivers. You can have a reigning offensive rookie of the year. You can have all kinds of skill in the running back room. None of it ****ing matters until the big boys up front change who the **** we are. We as coaches, we as an organization can’t want it more than you.”

It’s not the first time that the need for better line play has come up with the Jets this offseason and it will remain a major question mark until the unit shows they can perform consistently well in the regular season. Saleh’s vitriol from last week makes it clear how urgent it is that the group makes that change.

 

Man if Turner is your starter Rodgers is done. We didn't call him turnstile for nuthin:

Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton hasn’t shown the kind of consistency and reliability he needs for the Jets to believe they can count on him to be a starter. That’s the word from Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who said Becton will continue working with the backups until he shows he’s in good enough health and good enough shape to play a full game.

“The biggest thing for Mekhi is to show that he can play a game without having to be spelled out,” Saleh said, via the New York Post. “It’s unfair to the team to prepare a guy to start if you are not sure he can make it through a game. He is moving in the right direction. I thought he had a big step against Carolina in that game.”

Jets left tackle Duane Brown has been out of camp with a shoulder injury, which could have been an opportunity for Becton to show what he can do, but instead Billy Turner and Max Mitchell have been the Jets’ starting tackles. Saleh said Becton does have a chance to start, but it would be at right tackle rather than left tackle, and only when he shows he can last a full game.

“As soon as the [coaching] staff, training staff and everyone feels comfortable that he’s able to show that and stack days up, definitely start rotating him to compete,” Saleh said. “I think he is realizing he loves the game of football and he wants to be out there. If part of our best-five [line] is him playing right tackle, I think he’s on board.”

The Jets took Becton with the 11th overall pick in 2020 and he started 13 games as a rookie, but he played in just one game in 2021 and missed the entire 2022 season. He’s running out of chances to show he doesn’t deserve to be labeled a bust.

 

The Bills will not have star edge rusher Von Miller to begin the season.Miller will miss at least matchups with the Jets, Raiders, Commanders, and Dolphins to start the season.

Still recovering from his ACL tear suffered during the Thanksgiving game against the Lions, Miller will remain on the physically unable to perform list on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. That means he won’t be eligible to return until Week Five when the Bills take on the Jaguars in London. Miller can stay on the list beyond that if needed.

Miller signed a five-year deal with Buffalo last year after winning Super Bowl LVI with the Rams. He registered 8.0 sacks with 10 tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hits in his 11 games.

 

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports the Patriots have waived backup quarterback Bailey Zappe. And Jeff Howe of TheAthletic.com reports New England has also waived Malik Cunningham, who took snaps at QB during the summer.

That leaves the Patriots with just Mac Jones at quarterback, as the club cut Trace McSorley on Monday.

 

The Patriots placed right tackle Riley Reiff on injured reserve Monday. Reiff hurt his leg or knee in the final preseason game. He will miss a minimum of four games before returning. The Patriots promoted tight end Pharaoh Brown to the active roster from the practice squad.

Calvin Anderson is expected to start at right tackle during Reiff’s absence after coming off the non-football illness list last week. Mike Onwenu and Cole Strange are working their way back from injuries.

“It’s good to have Calvin back out there,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “It’s similar to what we saw from him in the spring and at Denver. He’s flexible, position flexibility to play both tackles. He’s a young player, but he’s experienced enough to where he can handle a lot of things and pick things up quicker than a rookie would, even though he played for another team. He’s been able to, I would say, transition pretty well from an assignment standpoint, technique standpoint and we’ll see how it goes.”

The Patriots also signed defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and waived linebacker Diego Fagot from injured reserve with a settlement.

 

Bills/Jets game might be delayed

JetLife Stadium could be grounded as a storm could delay and disrupt the Bills-Jets game on Monday night.

Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, a shelter in place warning currently is in effect at the venue. No players or personnel are being permitted on the field. At a minimum, that mars the pregame warmup rituals and routines. It’s possible the game will not start on time.