AFC East Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills RB Frank Gore defied Father Time yet again in 2019, suiting up at the age of 36 at a position notorious for its lack of longevity. But whether or not Gore returns in 2020 at the age of 37 remains up in the air. Gore has not decided if he wants to try and play and the Bills haven’t decided if they have a spot for him on their roster next season. 

“To where he goes next, I’m not sure,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said via SB Nation’s Matt Warren. “At the end of the year, a guy at his age—It was super awesome to watch him climb into third in the rushing stats. But we’ll let him decide what he’s going to do and we’ll self-inventory ourselves and make a decision. But nothing has been determined from him, whether he wants to continue playing. And then on the other end, whether we would have a spot for him back.”

• The NFL is investigating the Bills to see if they violated the injury report rules after DE Jerry Hughes says he played the whole season with torn wrist ligaments. (Matthew Fairburn)

Dolphins

• Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline writes the Dolphins like Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa, but it’s still too early in the evaluation process to say if they’d go out on a limb and trade up for him. 
• Pauline identifies the Chargers and Raiders as Miami’s biggest competition for Tagovailoa. 
• The Dolphins are hiring Illinois DL coach Austin Clark to coach their outside linebackers. (Ian Rapoport)

Jets

• The Athletic’s Connor Hughes lists Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue as his top target for the Jets in free agency if he gets away from Jacksonville. 
• Hughes also lists Cowboys WR Amari Cooper, but it’s much less likely Cooper hits free agency. 
• Other potential targets for New York include Ravens LB Matt Judon, Cowboys CB Byron Jones, Redskins G Brandon Scherff, Rams LB Dante Fowler, Steelers LB Bud Dupree, Panthers CB James Bradberry and Patriots G Joe Thuney. 

Patriots

• CBS analyst and former agent Joel Corry expects Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger‘s two-year, $68 million extension with $37.5 million guaranteed to serve as a blueprint for the Patriots and QB Tom Brady, though New England is more likely to want to go year-to-year. 
• However, Brady has consistently stated his goal of playing until he’s 45 and might want more of a commitment. 
• Corry says New England could end up paying Brady the current $62 million in the years that are set to void, converting some of that to a signing bonus and adding more void years to lower his cap hit. 
• At the minimum, Corry says the Patriots should be willing to offer Brady $24.4 million in 2020. 
• Most executives and coaches around the league see Brady staying in New England with the Patriots making a better effort to improve his supporting cast. (Jeremy Fowler)
• Patriots OC Josh McDaniels was indeed interested in the Panthers head coaching position before being unable to secure an interview. (Michael Giardi)
• Former Eagles OC Mike Groh could land on New England’s coaching staff given his father, Al, is familiar with the organization and his brother works in personnel. (Tom Curran)