NFL Notes: Bills, Lions, Patriots

February 17, 2018

Bills

According to Benjamin Allbright, the Bills have been calling around to potential trade partners about possibly moving up into the top-10 of this year’s NFL Draft.
Allbright adds that Buffalo is presumably targeting a quarterback in the top-10.

Lions

Michael Rothstein doesn’t think Le’Veon Bell is a realistic option for the Lions this offseason, given that the Steelers will likely franchise him if they can’t get a long-term deal done in the next few weeks.
Instead, Rothstein lists Patriots RBs Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead as players who could make more sense for Detroit along with Carlos Hyde and Isaiah Crowell if they’re available.
Rothstein would see what’s out there in the trade market for RB Ameer Abdullah this offseason but he wouldn’t release him, even if they don’t find much interest in a potential trade.
There has been some speculation about DT Ndamukong Suh‘s future with the Dolphins, but Rothstein can’t see the Lions trading for him or even pursuing him as a free agent.

Patriots

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski has reportedly been telling people around him that the toll on his body has been making him lean towards retirement.

“Weeks before [the AFC Championship game,] Gronkowski was telling people around him the toll on his body was making him lean toward the potential that this was his last season,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported last week, via Boston.com. “This is a very serious thing for Gronkowski at this point. He will certainly continue to contemplate retirement.”

Though Darlington explained that Gronkowski’s possible retirement is “not a done deal“, the tight end has reportedly been considering retiring “long before” the Super Bowl loss and concussion he sustained in the AFC Championship game.

“It’s not a done deal by any means, but this is not something that is simply an emotional approach to the loss of the Super Bowl, nor is it an emotional response to the concussion,” Darlington said. “This is something Gronkowski has been considering long before both of those instances in the 2017 season.”