The Jets–Patriots rivalry may have hit a new high (or perhaps, low) as Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports that NFL officials swept New York’s locker room and questioned three New England employees during Sunday’s game — all at the behest of the Jets. A source tells Howe that the Jets were concerned that Gillette Stadium’s operations and radio frequencies were not up to par (for the record, the Jets have denied making any such requests).
Nevertheless, per Howe, the three Pats employees were interrogated throughout the third quarter, forced to hand over their phones and radios, and required to submit to a photograph. According to Howe, the Patriots were informed that none of the checks revealed anything improper, and that the club had done nothing wrong.
Let’s take a look at more out the AFC East, including fallout from last night’s contest…
- The Dolphins‘ offensive line took a hit on Thursday night when Ja’Wuan James left the game with a toe injury, and it appears the team will have to get by without its starting right tackle for a few games. Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link) hears from a source that James is expected to miss four to six weeks.
- During Thursday night’s game, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) noted that the Patriots are coming “dangerously close” to running out of offensive lineman, and wondered if that could be a position they target before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
- One Patriots offensive lineman who did go down in last night’s game — guard Tre’ Jackson — should be able to return at some point in the near future, as a source tells Howe in a separate piece that the MRI on Jackson’s left knee came back negative. He’s considered day-to-day, and though he does have 10 days to get healthy, Jackson’s history of knee issues is a concern, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com details.
- The Patriots, always on the lookout for useful tight ends, brought in veteran free agents Steve Maneri and Bear Pascoe for workouts this week, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Per Reiss, the team is keeping its emergency lists fresh, so it doesn’t sound like either tight end will be signed by New England anytime soon.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.