AFC East Buzz: Patriots shocker, Von Miller, Dolphins rumors & Dalvin Cook
The initial 53-man rosters are set, and the New England Patriots have the AFC East buzzing after a surprising cut at the quarterback position. Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills will be without their defensive stud through Week 4, the Miami Dolphins make moves and a New York Jets running back will be cooking by Week 1.
Let’s start down in Foxborough where Bill Belichick has the media and fans scratching their heads as the initial Patriots 53-man roster was finalized late Tuesday afternoon.
There are always head-scratching moves in the land of Belichick, but waiving both Bailey Zappe and undrafted rookie QB Malik Cunningham leaves the Pats with just quarterback as of Tuesday. That does leave a whole lot of confidence in Mac Jones, but there is no way the team will have no backup quarterbacks.
AFC East buzz: Patriots still hope to bring back Bailey Zappe
The buzz is that they hope to bring back both Zappe and Cunningham for the practice squad. That makes a lot of sense, but the Patriots are taking a huge gamble by giving other team’s an opportunity to snag either player. Although Zappe struggled through the preseason, it’s hard to believe Belichick has given up on the second-year quarterback completely unless he sees another intriguing option out there.
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Some quarterbacks to watch include Kellen Mond, Will Grier and if he’s looking for a veteran quarterback to back up Jones, Colt McCoy can be an option.
As far as Mac Jones, the third-year quarterback is entering a pivotal Year 3. With Bill O’Brien in place as offensive coordinator, Jones has an opportunity to run a normal offense again, but success will depend on the Patriots offensive line where the team made a couple of trades this week to try to plug their shortage at tackle.
Can either Vedrian Lowe, acquired in a deal with the Minnesota Vikings or Tyrone Wheatley Jr., acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns help stabilize some depth on that O-Line?
If not, the New England Patriots will have no signal callers left.