AFC East Free Agency Review

The 2013 free agency period has been a doozy, with many big-name players moving on to new teams. Both the American and National Conferences saw large upheaval of stalwarts and fan favorites. For now, let’s focus on the AFC. With the exception of the AFC South, each division experienced a whole lot of movement. Bottom-feeder teams, namely the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Browns, made moves that could have them breaking their usual mold in this upcoming season.

In the AFC East, you must acknowledge the big offseason Miami’s new regime is having so far. After releasing Karlos Dansby and losing Sean Smith to free agency, it seemed they were headed for more mediocrity. Then they began to shake the NFL world, primarily by signing receiver Mike Wallace. They continued from there, then adding ex-Ravens linebacker Danell Ellerbe. This was a great move for bolstering their defense, as well as weakening the defending champions. Anthony Fasano jumped ship, but the Dolphins added more targets for their young quarterback, signing receiver Brandon Gibson and veteran tight end Dustin Keller. Of course free agency is not the end-all for team building, and Miami is expected to look for Reggie Bush’s replacement in the draft while leaning more on Lamar Miller. So far though, their off-season has started with a bang.

There was also a lot of activity coming out of New England’s headquarters during the free agency period. The media focused most of its attention on the Wes Welker contract situation, obscuring some of the positive things the Patriots did for their roster. In the wake of Welker’s departure, the team signed Danny Amendola, a younger, more injury-prone, and apparently cheaper version of Welker himself. New England also signed Leon Washington, an explosive kick-returner who will also join strong medley of running backs and backfield receivers. Brandon Lloyd was released after just one season with the Patriots, but they quickly atoned for this by signing Donald Jones from Buffalo, a bigger target that’s been uncommon in Boston recently. We can rest assured that New England will not end their improvement process here though, knowing what a strong believer in the draft Bill Belicheck.

The Jets and have not made much noise in free agency, but the AFC East whipping boys were not completely inactive. Buffalo’s biggest move was releasing their incumbent starter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started the last two seasons hot but could not maintain the production throughout the schedule. It is almost certain that they will be seeking his replacement in the draft come April, as well as some new receiving talent after losing Donald Jones to the division-rival Patriots. The Jets signed a few players, such as former-Charger Antonio Garay, but did not target any big-name free agents. There’s no telling what the New Jersey brass is planning to get them back into playoff contention, but all we really want to know is whether or not it involves Darelle Revis.

The AFC East was very active in free agency thanks to the Patriots and especially Dolphins, who still remain comfortably under the salary cap. For now it doesn’t seem that the pecking order in this division will change much in 2013, but the draft still looms. However, at least we get to see a few “revenge games” due to the unusually high number of players switching teams within the division.