AFC East Rumors: Pats, Blount, Jets, Conley

The Patriotsoffer to running back LeGarrette Blount may not be on the table forever, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. New England has met with other free agent backs in recent weeks, including Adrian Peterson, Damien Williams, and Mike Gillislee, perhaps in an effort to send a signal to Blount. Blount hasn’t generated any interest elsewhere, which is what he’d need to do in order to force the Patriots to up their proposal. As Reiss notes, the 2017 RB draft class is considered exceptionally strong, so Blount may want to ink a new contract with the Pats before the club selects a runner in the draft later this month.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

  • Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley‘s previously-reported meeting with the Jets will take place on Monday, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. While Conley has generally been viewed as a lesser prospect than his Buckeye teammate Marshon Lattimore, that perception may be changing. While Lattimore’s injury concerns are troubling, Conley is viewed as an extremely safe player, and may end up being the first cornerback off the board. New York could certainly use help in the secondary after releasing Darrelle Revis earlier this year.
  • Defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson isn’t garnering much interest on the trade market, meaning the Jets may have to hang onto him for the 2017 campaign, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Indianapolis may have been a logical trade partner, but the Colts probably aren’t in the Richardson hunt after signing Johnathan Hankins last week. Gang Green could still use Richardson as a trade chip on draft day, but as Cimini notes, the “clock is ticking” on any potential deal.
  • The Jets intend to re-sign recently-released linebacker Julian Stanford, and Stanford was aware of that when Gang Green cut ties last week, per Cimini. Stanford, 26, has bounced around the league since 2012, spending time with Detroit, Jacksonville, and New York. In 2016, Stanford appeared in nine games (two starts) for the Jets, playing on roughly a quarter of the club’s defensive snaps and a third of the team’s special steams snaps.
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