AFC East Notes: Tom Brady, Jets, Patriots

Tom Brady

• Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston hears that if Patriots QB Tom Brady becomes a free agent, he may try to set up several meetings at one location instead of touring his way around the country.
• Potential tampering actually helps the Patriots, according to Curran. If Brady knows what teams are interested in him prior to negotiating with New England, then the need for him to go on a free-agent tour is eliminated.
• Curran reports that the situation isn’t about money and has been told that it won’t matter to Brady if a non-contender offers him $70 million over two years. A source close to the situation tells Curran that there figures to be ten teams with interest in Brady.
• Meanwhile, Curran says the Patriots may struggle to convince free-agent tight ends or wideouts to sign if they don’t know whether or not Brady will return.

Jets

• The Athletic’s Connor Hughes writes the consensus around the league is the Jets might be able to get a sixth-round pick at most in a straight-up trade of RB Le’Veon Bell given his contract and struggles in 2019. 
• To get more, the Jets would need to eat part of Bell’s salary, and Hughes writes it’s not believed that Jets GM Joe Douglas would be willing to pay Bell not to play in New York. 
• Regarding a potential Bell trade, a source familiar with the Jets’ plans tells Ralph Vacchiano that it’s “unlikely” but New York would consider it for the right offer.
• An AFC scout, who spoke with Vacchiano, explained that he isn’t sure if there would be serious interest in Bell after his 2019 season: “Because he’s an unknown now. He obviously didn’t look like himself last season. Is that because of the team or the (offensive) line? Or did he lose something after a year out of the game? I don’t know. But he didn’t have the same burst he had before. He looked tentative … He’s probably not as bad as he looked last year, but will teams be willing to bet money and picks on that? I don’t think so.”

Patriots

• NFL Media’s Michael Giardi says Patriots G Joe Thuney is going to get paid in free agency this year and it’s likely not going to be by New England, as they don’t have the resources to match the $30+ million Thuney will likely get on the open market. 
• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport specifically mentioned the Patriots as a possible trade destination for Bengals QB Andy Dalton if Brady decides to move on.