AFC East Rumors: Landry, Suh, Solder, Jets

Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry is expected to sign his franchise tender shortly, and once that happens, he and the team will continue to work together to facilitate a trade. However, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Miami’s asking price in a Landry trade is still unclear, and he says the earlier rumor that the Bears could trade Jordan Howard to the Dolphins in exchange for Landry — a rumor that was subsequently shot down — sounded like a report that Miami planted in order to generate offers. If that was the case, the strategy did not work, as the trade market remains at a standstill. Robinson suggests (via Twitter) that Landry could return to Miami in 2018, but the team will continue to look for the right trade offer.

Here’s more from the AFC East, starting with another item out of South Beach:

• Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the Dolphins‘ recent agreement to trade for Robert Quinn is further evidence of his belief that the team is looking to move on from Ndamukong Suh (even though the two play different positions on the defensive line). Other reports have indicated that Miami wants Suh back in 2018, but the club could approach the mercurial DT about a restructure to help reduce his massive cap number.
• Nate Solder is easily the best left tackle set to hit the open market, and as Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports, the Patriots have yet to make an offer to him (although the later-than-usual start to free agency means that there is still time to get something done). Solder’s preference is to remain in New England, but if the Pats cannot lock him up within the next week, Howe says Solder will seek the best offer on the open market and will not accept a hometown discount. Sources suggest he could receive upwards of $12MM annually, and if he does find a new home, the Pats will be left with plenty of uncertainty at LT.
• Former Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema attended the scouting combine as a representative of the Patriots, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com. However, it is unclear whether Bielema will be joining the team’s coaching staff. He and New England head coach Bill Belichick are close, and Belichick may have just been doing Bielema a favor by bringing him to the combine.
• As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com observes, the Patriots could be looking closely at running backs in this year’s draft, as Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis are both set to hit the open market. Former Patriots executive and current Lions GM Bob Quinn recently stated that this year’s crop of collegiate backs is generally strong in pass protection, which is an asset that New England values as much as anything when it comes to its RBs. As such, Reiss suggests need could align perfectly with opportunity when the draft rolls around. Likewise, this year’s draft contains more than usual off-the-line linebackers with first-round abilities, which could also suit New England quite nicely.
• Just like Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News sees Teddy Bridgewater as a potential target for the Jets if they cannot land Kirk Cousins. If the Jets somehow do end up with Cousins, it would open up a world of possibilities for New York vis-a-vis its first-round draft choice, and Notre Dame guard Quinton Nelson could be a perfect fit.