AFC East Notes: Bills, Gilmore, Jets, Glennon

The Bills managed to build a winning secondary after losing Stephon Gilmore in free agency, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. The Bills have allowed a league-low 13.5 points per game and lead the division with a 3-1 record. Meanwhile, the Patriots are off to a disappointing 2-2 start after adding Gilmore on a five-year, $65MM contract.

The Bills took some heat when they didn’t use the $14MM tag on Gilmore or sign him to a lucrative extension, but they instead spread that cash out to add free agent safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. They also snagged corner Tre’Davious White in the first round and landed E.J. Gaines in the Sammy Watkins deal with the Rams. That quartet counts for about $10MM against the team’s salary cap this year, which is only slightly higher than the $8.568MM hit New England has for Gilmore.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

• The Jets took a beating for their offseason moves, but Brian Costello of the New York Post gives them credit for passing on quarterback Mike Glennon in free agency. The veteran signed a three-year, $45MM deal with Chicago but now finds himself riding the pine behind rookie Mitch Trubisky. Josh McCown may not be a superstar, but the Jets avoided a costly blunder by passing on Glennon and they currently find themselves at 2-2.
• One month into the season, the Bills‘ signing of Stephen Hauschka has proven to be one of the team’s most impactful offseason moves, Sal Maiorana of The Democrat and Chronicle writes. This week, Hauschka was named the AFC’s special teams defensive player of the week for the second time in a row. The kicker currently stands fourth on the NFL’s all-time list for field goal accuracy at 87.3%, putting him behind only Dan Bailey, Stephen Gostkowski, and Justin Tucker. So far this year, Hauschka has connected on eight of nine FG attempts and made all seven of his extra points tries.
• The Patriots would be wise to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com opines.
• Dolphins lineman Mike Pouncey says that hip replacement surgery is inevitable, but it sounds like he can stave it off until his career is through.