AFC East Notes: Jets, Forte, Hackenberg, Pats

Jets wide receiver Eric Decker says that Gang Green will have a leg up in the AFC East if Tom Brady is suspended for four games. However, they’re going to need a lot more to happen in order to have a realistic chance of toppling the Patriots, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes.

For one, offseason acquisition Matt Forte must break the “curse of 30” and show that he can still produce at the running back position. Forte had a relatively down season in 2015, missing three games with injury and failing to top 1,000 yards rushing for the first time since 2011. However, he still managed almost 1,300 yards from scrimmage after catching 44 passes out of the backfield for nearly 400 yards.

Fellow newcomer Ryan Clady, who has played in only 18 regular games over the past three years, also must find a way to stay on the field. Clady joins a Jets offensive line that was somewhat inconsistent in 2015, though they ranked No. 3 in pass protection per Football Outsiders’ metrics.

Oh, and one other thing: the Jets absolutely need to bring back Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mehta writes. It is certainly hard to argue with that point.

Here’s more out of the AFC East:

• Jets director of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger says the team has “high hopes” for Christian Hackenberg, though that doesn’t mean that that Bryce Petty has slipped in the eyes of team brass. “Personally, our opinion is you don’t draft on what your roster is,” he said, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “We like to fill our needs in free agency and draft the best available. In regard to Bryce, that’s not really a slight at Bryce anymore than drafting a linebacker [Darron Lee] is a slight at David Harris in that regard.”
• Former New Orleans safety Vinnie Sunseri worked out for the Patriots last week, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Caplan adds that Sunseri’s recovery from ACL surgery is going well. The veteran is now nine months removed from going under the knife. Things haven’t been easy for Sunseri since coming into the NFL as a fifth-round pick in 2014. In his rookie year, he missed a good portion of the season with a broken arm. Then, prior to the 2015 season, he suffered an ACL tear which sidelined him for the entire campaign.
• Earlier this week, we learned that Laremy Tunsil‘s draft day slide may have had something to do with a nagging ankle injury. The Dolphins were able to take the Ole Miss product at No. 13 overall and many had attributed his tumble solely to the now infamous leaked video.
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