Tim Wilson

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Parker, Patriots, Gordon, Jets

By Andrew Ortenberg | at December 14, 2018 8:35 pm

The Dolphins have a big offseason ahead of them. They’ll have to make a very tough decision about Ryan Tannehill, but they have some other calls to make as well. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took a look at some of their non-Tannehill related upcoming decisions recently, and wrote that receiver DeVante Parker almost certainly won’t be back at the $9.4MM salary he’s owed next season. He also writes about veteran pass-rusher Cameron Wake, who is set to be a free agent after this season, and notes that “the Dolphins told Wake’s camp early this past offseason that they wanted to extend him but nothing materialized.”

Wake will be turning 37 next month, and has seen his production drop off a bit this year with just 4.5 sacks compared to 10.5 a year ago. Jackson thinks the Dolphins will definitely want Wake back at a cheaper figure than his current $8MM salary, but is unsure whether Wake will be willing to take a dramatic pay-cut. It might be pretty small, but Jackson does “expect a Dolphins offer, at the very least.”

Here’s more from the AFC East:

• The Patriots hosted a few players for workouts today. The team brought in LB Sam Eguavoen, T Ryker Matthews, and WR Tim Wilson, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN (Twitter link). Reiss notes these workouts were likely done with an eye toward 2019 and not this season, as Eguavoen and Matthews currently play in the CFL and aren’t eligible to be signed until after the season. Wilson was in training camp with the Eagles this summer.
• “The Jets will go hard after Le’Veon Bell in free agency”, predicts Darryl Slater of NJ.com. Bell has been linked to New York a lot recently, and the fit would make sense with the Jets lacking a true number one running back and the fact that the big media market would fit Bell’s brand and personality. Isaiah Crowell was just placed on injured reserve and could very well be cut after this season. Slater also runs down some other potential Jets offseason moves, and thinks the team will be moving on from left guard James Carpenter and running back Bilal Powell. It sounds like it should be an offseason of change for the Jets, who seem almost certain to fire head coach Todd Bowles after the season.
•  The Patriots should place a first round tender on Josh Gordon this offseason, argues Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Gordon is a restricted free agent after the year, and Kyed thinks that due to Gordon’s lengthy off-field history, no team will be willing to give up the first round pick they’d have to hand over to the Patriots if they wanted to sign him to an offer sheet. The Patriots could always gamble and tender him at a lower level to try to save money, but if they do that some other team could swoop in and sign Gordon to a massive offer sheet.