2023 AFC East: One Big Question to Be Answered in Training Camp
There’s plenty of intrigue in the AFC East with some notable arrivals.
Aaron Rodgers is now the quarterback of the Jets, Jalen Ramsey plays cornerback for the Dolphins and Bill O’Brien is calling plays for the Patriots.
As for the Bills, who have won the division the past three seasons, they have a familiar cast, but they need to get along with star receiver Stefon Diggs to finally get over the hump and win a Super Bowl.
With training camp starting later this month, we’ll soon have questions answered regarding the four teams in the AFC East, including Diggs’s relationship with the Bills.
Also, is Aaron Rodgers still Aaron Rodgers?
Will the Patriots fix their offense to complement a rising defense?
The Dolphins have a stacked roster, but do they have the right quarterback?
Let’s examine one question for the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots and Jets that might be answered in training camp.
Can the Bills get on the same page with Diggs?
Allen won't be able to get the Bills to the Super Bowl without Diggs.
Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports
Bills quarterback Josh Allen spent last week golfing with his celebrity friends in Lake Tahoe, but now he needs Diggs to get along with the coaches in Buffalo.
Allen, coach Sean McDermott and many other members of the Bills have said there’s nothing to worry about regarding Diggs’s commitment to the team. Diggs missed the first day of mandatory minicamp, but he participated in the second practice. Initially, McDermott said he was “very concerned” about Diggs’s absence, but later it was reported that Diggs was actually at the facility for the start of minicamp.
With Diggs practicing last month, he’ll likely report for the first day of training camp. Perhaps we’ll soon get some clarity on the strange situation if Diggs is one of the first players on the interview podium. There were reports that Diggs wanted more say in the offensive play-calling and was frustrated with his role on the team.
The Bills’ offense regressed in 2022 during Ken Dorsey’s first season as the offensive coordinator. But Allen, Dorsey and McDermott won’t be able to improve the offense without Diggs onboard. What Diggs says at the interview podium during training camp will probably provide plenty of answers.
Will Tua stay healthy and turn the Dolphins into a true contender?
Tagovailoa sustained two concussions in 2022.
Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports
This is a pivotal season for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for many reasons.
He likely isn’t expecting a massive contract extension before training camp such as his fellow 2020 draft quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. Tagovailoa will have to audition in ’23 to earn his second contract, needing to prove to Miami he can turn its talented roster into a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
But more important, can Tagovailoa stay healthy to guide a team in the postseason?
Tagovailoa, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft, sustained two concussions last season and missed the Dolphins’ wild-card playoff loss to the Bills. He also entered the league after undergoing hip surgery during his final season in Alabama.
It took Tagovailoa two seasons to find his footing as a starting quarterback, partly because he didn’t have the right pieces around him. Tagovailoa flourished in his first season working with coach Mike McDaniel and found instant chemistry with the arrival of Tyreek Hill.
Now with the surroundings no longer being the issue, it’s on Tagovailoa to prove he can be a reliable franchise quarterback, starting by being healthy throughout training camp.
Is O’Brien the right OC to fix Mac Jones and the Patriots’ offense?
For the Patriots, it's all about Jones's development under new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.
Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports
Patriots coach Bill Belichick brought back O’Brien as the offensive coordinator after his failed experiment of having Matt Patricia and Joe Judge split the offensive coaching duties in 2022.
Without a lead voice, quarterback Mac Jones had a disappointing second season. The Patriots struggled to score points, averaging 21.4 points per game, 17th in the league.
O’Brien spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator for Alabama, where he helped Bryce Young develop into a Heisman Trophy–winning quarterback and the No. 1 pick in the draft. O’Brien was also instrumental as the head coach of the Texans in the development of Deshaun Watson.
O’Brien’s work as an offensive guru, however, has been overlooked because of how poorly he did as the Texans’ general manager in 2020.
Belichick got it right by hiring a true offensive coordinator, but we’ll soon find out whether O’Brien was the right hire to get Jones and the Patriots’ offense back on track.
Will Rodgers do what Brett Favre couldn’t with the Jets?
Rodgers has the Jets thinking Super Bowl since his trade from the Packers.
Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com/USA TODAY Network
Rodgers has high expectations to deliver a Super Bowl for his first season with the Jets. But it will be an uphill battle for Rodgers because the Jets reside in the rugged AFC East—the Bills and Dolphins are viewed as playoff contenders, and the Patriots could be a surprise team in 2023.
And the Jets will likely need to win the division to have a shot at coming out of the conference. Road postseason games in the AFC will be a daunting challenge, with the Chiefs, Bengals, Jaguars, Ravens and Chargers also expected to be in the mix.
Fifteen years ago, Brett Favre also had high expectations with the Jets after a long stint with the Packers. But it went poorly for Favre, and the Jets cut him after one season.
We won’t know for a while if Rodgers will do better than Favre, but we’ll likely see glimpses of how good this Jets offense can be during training camp. We also might learn if Rodgers is fully healthy after he dealt with injuries during his final season in Green Bay.
Perhaps the Jets’ social media team will be busy uploading several Rodgers-to–Garrett Wilson training camp videos to let us know Rodgers is still Rodgers.
