AFC East training camp preview Gronk-less Patriots vulnerable

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AFC East training camp preview: Gronk-le s Patriots vulnerable? Published: Jul 15, 2019 at 04:58 AM Digital Content Editor Buffalo Bills rookies (July 22) and veterans (July 24). St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. Most important position battle: running back. After a season in which their leading rusher was a 6-foot-5 quarterback from Wyoming, the are trying something a little different at running back. Buffalo bolstered its backfield behind , who's coming off the worst statistical season of his career. The added youth ( Willie Lanier Jersey third-round pick Devin Singletary), experience (Frank Gore) and everything in between ( , rugby union player Christian Wade) to relieve Shady. Reports from minicamp suggest McCoy, Gore and Singletary will be battling for starting snaps during August, and Yeldon has expre sed excitement about the notion of in Buffalo's backfield. But there are only so many regular-season snaps. Will every back still be on the roster when the real campaign kicks off in September? Is there a scenario where one of the immortal veterans (McCoy or Gore) gets cut? Will lead the team in rushing again and prove all of this offseason speculation ineffectual? Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: , linebacker. Buffalo's offense is chock full o' newcomers to monitor, so it's hard to pick one on that side of the ball. On defense, though, the answer is easier. Milano, before breaking his leg in December, was in the midst of a standout sophomore season. The well-rounded 2017 fifth-rounder had 78 tackles, 12 for lo s, seven pa ses defensed and three picks at the time of his injury and was inarguably Buffalo's best defender. Sharing the inside linebacker position with first-rounder , Milano looked to be one of a prodigious pair. But the leg injury briefly changed that expectation. If Milano can return to form alongside Edmunds, Sean McDermott could have in Buffalo what he had for many years in Carolina: a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacking tandem, a la and . However, physical players like Milano don't always come back from leg injuries with the same energy. Training camp will be a proving ground for the soon-to-be 25-year-old LB. Looming camp question: Will take One Giant Leap for Billskind? There's no more obvious pre sing i sue in Buffalo than figuring out whether the man-child drafted to be the quarterback of the future is actually the quarterback of the future. Allen had a scattershot rookie year, filled with wild throws, wilder runs and , but ultimately played as scouts had expected. Accuracy was an i sue; Allen completed 52.8 percent of his pa ses. He can throw it over them there mountains; try watching his from Week 12 with your mouth not wide in awe. Flashes of brilliance and nonsense in equal measure. Buffalo is hoping that an improved arsenal of weapons and offensive linemen will help Allen -- and by virtue, the offense -- come into their own in 2019. Allen might even at points this season. If improvement isn't seen in Allen, while his fellow draftees (and AFC East rivals), and , make strides in their sophomore efforts, then Buffalo will have to reconsider Allen's future with the club. The have built around the QB. Can Allen take them higher? Miami Dolphins rookies (July 21) and veterans (July 24). Baptist Health Training Facility in Davie, Florida. Most important position battle: quarterback. vs. is why we love training camp. On an otherwise-nondescript Miami roster, Fitz-Rosen will provide the dramatic heft that the first year of the Brian Flores era surely needs. The quirky, bearded journeyman staving off extinction at the hands of the wry, wronged youngster? Shoot this trope into my veins. Through offseason activities, the battle has not gone quite as expected. After Miami traded a second-rounder for Rosen's services, the former No. 10 pick didn't light up practice. Most Miami beat writers had the 36-year-old Fitzpatrick in the lead heading into training camp. There is no rush to start Rosen if he's not ready, but having the 22-year-old sophomore not begin the season under center would be a slight indictment of the trade, and even his viability as Miami's QB of the future. Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: , wide receiver. Before he suffered a season-ending hip injury, Wilson was one of the NFL's most devastating players in space last season. Former Fins coach Adam Gase weaponized Wilson into a do-everything skill player with exceptional YAC ability; Wilson's 74.3 catch percentage and 11.2 yards per target were career highs, the latter ranking in the top five among receivers with at least 20 targets. Whether Wilson will have a similar role under new offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea will be something to monitor in August. That is, if he is available in August. Wilson expects to be back on the sidelines , but could start camp on the PUP list. Looming camp question: What's going on with and Miami's secondary? On this roster, there may be no more unsettled position group than the one once coached by Flores in New England. Outside of the recently reimbursed , the status of defensive backs is in flux. Longtime Miami stalwart and two-time Pro Bowler is thought to be the odd man out in a crowded safety room that features and T.J. McDonald; the 31-year-old vet skipped OTAs amid reports Miami was seeking to trade him and his $17 million cap hit. Adding to his frustration could be that cornerback was working out at safety during offseason workouts and was signed away from the to play in nickel packages and potentially start. Plus, the front office in the defensive backfield, especially youngsters , and . Will Miami's green DBs impre s in August and help catalyze a trade of Jones? New England Patriots rookies (July 21) and veterans (July 24). Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Ma sachusetts. Most important position battle: Marcus Allen Jersey tight end. Rob Gronkowski retired this offseason, you might have heard. He was good. The will mi s him. Who's up next in Bill Belichick's ranks? There was , whom New England signed and after he chose to take a step away from football for "personal reasons." There is Ben Watson, whom the Pats coaxed out of retirement ... only to be . No longer is there , who followed Brian Flores to South Beach. So, who's left over in the tight end room and eligible to play in the first month of the season? , , and . Combined career receptions: 63. Gronk had 47 in 13 games last season. LaCo se figures to be the starter going into camp, but will New England have to rea se s the position before the season gets underway? Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: , wide receiver. One big body expected to soak up Gronk's vacated targets is New England's first-round pick. Harry, the No. 32 overall selection, was the first Pats receiver taken in the first round during the Belichick era and the highest receiver taken in New England since Terry Glenn went seventh overall in 1996. fans aren't used to a prospect like Harry. The great New England wideouts of the last 20 years have mostly come cheap: Wes Welker averaged le s than $3 million a year with the Pats; was a seventh-round converted quarterback; even Randy Mo s was acquired from Oakland for the price of just a fourth-rounder. But Harry carries the weight of expectations and the attention that comes with being drafted in the first round (albeit at the VERY end). His addition -- along with the free-agent signings of and -- spurred conversation this offseason that the were doubling down on bigger receivers, in a way going against type to . Harry's progre sion in camp will prove pivotal to ensuring that advantage come September. Looming camp question: Is this the year? The footballing world is waiting on New Derrick Thomas Jersey England's downfall, as the ' reign of terror and 's career have lasted far beyond their expected expiration date. And yet the machine marches on, with new, cheaper pieces in place every coming year. But nothing lasts . And before things end, there are warning signs. Was Gronk's retirement a death knell? What about the copyright of nearly all of Belichick's defensive staff and , leaving just Belichick and his offspring ? Houston's pursuit of Nick Caserio was a wee scare, too, before the bested the on technicalities and for at least one more draft. That's the rub, isn't it? Until 's arm falls well out of its socket, there's no guarantee the will ever fall off, though their detractors hope and pray each offseason, each training camp, each NFL Kickoff Game that this is finally the year. And every year, we eventually rediscover that to even entertain the thought was a fool's errand. New York Jets rookies (July 19) and veterans (July 24). Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. Most important position battle: cornerback. New York attacked nearly every hole on its roster in the offseason, from running back to guard to edge rusher, yet curiously did not add a legitimate starter to the cornerback room acro s from . This point could be moot in short order if the re-sign , a po sibility . Still, while New York boasts two rising stars at safety in and , the ' cornerbacks have struggled to find their footing since the departure of Darrelle Revis; during Todd Bowles' reign, New York's pa s-defense ranking steadily declined, finishing at 24th last season. Behind Johnson on the depth chart are , , , and a sorted others. Sorting out the rest of that room will be critical this summer for Gregg Williams and his defensive staff, whose dialed-up pre sure won't mean jack without adequate back-end coverage. Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: , running back. Gang Green got but a glimpse of their prized acquisition this offseason, when Bell, who had not been seen on a football field in well over a year, showed up and participated in mandatory minicamp. That, before a week later. No matter: Reports from New York's New Jersey facility said Bell looked in shape, albeit a bit rusty, and ran in a manner vaguely reminiscent of his time in Pittsburgh. With an exaggeratedly dramatic offseason -- one that involved and -- behind him, Bell can report to training camp ready to hold nothing back and remind the league of his pedigree. New York is depending on Bell to shoulder the load in the running receiving game. The two-time All-Pro is the ' only expected offensive starter, aside from , to have been named to a . The need Bell to establish himself as the focal point of Adam Gase's offense out of the gate in training camp. Looming camp question: How will Adam Gase and get on? No one would mistake the for trendsetters after their hire of Adam Gase. Replacing a tired defense-centric head coach with an offensive mind to pair with a young quarterback and then hiring a notable veteran defensive coordinator to handle the other side of the ball? That's so last year (Bears), and the year before that (Rams). But the Gase-Darnold dynamic is vital to Gang Green's succe s. Gase might appear adversarial with the media and , but by all indications the players have taken to him, including Darnold, whose serious but wide-eyed and creative approach to playing quarterback squares nicely with Gase's demeanor. In a better, more diverse scheme than Jeremy Bates ran -- and with a better supporting cast than he had in 2018 -- Darnold will be expected to improve upon his inconsistent but crescendoed rookie performance. Creating a mind-meld in camp with Gase wouldn't hurt. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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