AFC Mailbags: Bills, Raiders, Jets, Colts

It’s a June Saturday, so that means a full dose of mailbags from the NFL beat writers. We’ll start with some Bills thoughts.

  • Walk-year left tackle Cordy Glenn could be the odd man out when it comes to contract re-ups next offseason, writes Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. The fourth-year starter’s put together a solid body of work, particularly in 2013 where Pro Football Focus slotted the 2012 second-round pick as its 13th-best tackle. But with Marcell Dareus‘ massive second payday forthcoming, Glenn’s next deal may come from elsewhere, since Carucci doesn’t believe the Bills view him as a certainty to play up to the kind of contract a quality left tackle commands in free agency.
  • Showing up late for minicamp may cost right tackle Seantrel Henderson his starting job, with 2014 second-rounder Cyrus Kouandjio stepping in as a result. This could just be for minicamp as Buffalo assesses its front-line talent, but Carucci notes that with Glenn potentially in his last season with the team, they may need to see what they have in Kouandjio.
  • Third-round pick Clive Walford has a chance to beat out incumbent Mychal Rivera for the Raiders‘ starting tight end job if he keeps up the play he showed during minicamp, notes ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson. The ESPN scribe already views Walford, a 6-foot-4 Miami product, as a more dynamic playmaker than Rivera, who despite being a quality garbage-time fantasy option, rated as Pro Football Focus’ second-worst tight end (subscription required) in 2014.
  • Jets ESPN.com reporter Rich Cimini thinks re-signing both Muhammad Wilkerson and, eventually, Sheldon Richardson will be difficult, with the possibility of defensive linemen making as much as $30MM per year in 2017. That eye-popping figure may be a bit high considering J.J. Watt and Ndamukong Suh don’t average $20MM per season. The Jets do allocate a league-high $34.4MM to their offensive front, and renegotiations there could help keep together what could be the best defensive line in the game. But Cimini expects the Jets to take a hard-line stance with Wilkerson after drafting Leonard Williams at No. 6.
  • After alternating snaps in minicamp, Lance Louis and Hugh Thornton are the Colts‘ top candidates to start at right guard if Jack Mewhort moves to right tackle, writes ESPN.com’s Mike Wells. The oft-injured Donald Thomas is an outside candidate to reclaim that spot after multiple season-ending injuries, although he didn’t participate in minicamp.
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