AFC East Player Movement: Free Agents Changing Teams within Division
All four AFC East Teams added at least one free agent from within the division thus far this offseason.
The New York Jets added only one, but have lost several.
In all, four Jets players – Braxton Berrios, Dan Feeney, James Robinson and Mike White -- left for division rivals
Below, I examine one notable intra-division addition by each AFC East team.
RB Damien Harris, Buffalo Bills
Former Team: Patriots
The explosive runner has averaged 4.66 yards per carry during his NFL career. Hampered by a hamstring injury in 2022, Harris missed six of the Patriots’ regular season games and finished with 462 rush yards on only 106 attempts.
The 5-foot-11 Harris became a fantasy football darling in 2021, totaling 1,061 yards from scrimmage and rushing for 15 touchdowns. In 15 starts that season, he rushed 202 times for 929 yards.
The 26-year old running back, a two-time National Champion at Alabama, initially came to the Patriots as a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Harris did not see a significant number of snaps until 2020 when he rushed for 691 yards on 137 carries.
Harris went over the 100-yard rushing mark in both regular season meetings with the Bills in 2021, victimizing his new team by scoring four touchdowns on 28 carries.
QB Mike White, Miami Dolphins
Former Team: Jets
White, the Jets’ insurance policy at quarterback, bolted for Miami, where he signed a two-year contract worth as much as $16 million according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
In four games for the Jets last year, the 6-foot-4 White accounted for a 58.9 completion percentage while passing for 1,192 yards and three touchdowns. He suffered nine sacks and was intercepted four times.
White’s season was derailed in Week 14 when he took a vicious, but clean, hit from Buffalo Bills’ linebacker Matt Milano. Showing toughness, White finished out the game, but missed the next two weeks due to the rib injury he sustained from the hit.
Bills LB Matt Milano delivers a bone-crushing hit on QB Mike White
JAMIE GERMANO / USA TODAY NETWORK
White, a fifth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018, has appeared in eight career NFL games, all with Gang Green. The South Florida product, who owns a 2-5 record as a starter, has thrown for 2,145 yards and eight touchdowns while being intercepted 12 times. He averages 6.99 yards per pass attempt.
RB James Robinson, New England Patriots
Former Team: Jets
The Jets declined to offer a contract to the restricted free agent, who made underwhelming contributions to Gang Green’s offense after being acquired via a mid-season trade. Despite Robinson’s disappointing 2022 campaign, the Patriots were quick to welcome the former 1,000-yard rusher on a two-year deal worth up to $8 million per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
RB James Robinson
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
The Jets acquired Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars via trade in response to running back Breece Hall’s season-ending injury last October. At the time, the move looked attractive considering Robinson had averaged 4.55 yards per carry and scored 18 touchdowns over his first two NFL seasons (28 games).
Not seemingly recovered from the Achilles injury that ended his 2021 season in Week 16, Robinson totaled a combined 425 rush yards on 110 attempts while spending 2022 in Jacksonville and New York. Only 85 of those yards came as a member of the Jets.
P Thomas Morstead, New York Jets
Former Team: Dolphins
On St. Patrick’s Day, Morstead delivered the news of his signing via Twitter. Looking ahead to his second stint with Gang Green, the 14-year NFL veteran tweeted, “Got my green on. Kiss me, I’m a Jet!”
Morstead was initially signed by the Jets in 2021 to fill in for an injured Braden Mann. After punting in seven games for New York, he was released upon Mann’s return.
Morstead, a fifth-round draft pick in 2009, punted the entire 2022 season for Miami on a one-year deal. He played his first 12 NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints. He has appeared in 221 games and owns a career 46.5 punting average (41.6 net).
Morstead’s signing signals a likely training-camp competition for the Jets’ starting punt duties with Mann, the team’s 2020 sixth-round selection, still on the roster.
Others Notable Player Moves within AFC East:
P Jake Bailey (From Patriots to Dolphins)
WR Braxton Berrios (From Jets to Dolphins)
OL Dan Feeney (From Jets to Dolphins)
TE Mike Gesicki (From Dolphins to Patriots)
WR Trent Sherfield (From Dolphins to Bills)
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