The AFC East has been ruled by two teams the past 15 years. The New England Patriots owned the division (and the league) during the first 20 seasons of this century. That includes an NFL-record 11 straight division titles from 2009-2019. However, the past four seasons, Sean McDermott’s Buffalo Bills have owned the top spot in the AFC East.
What about the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets? The former hasn’t won a division title since 2008, and hasn’t prevailed in a postseason game since 2000. As for the Green and White, the team last won the AFC East in 2002—the first season of the league’s current eight-division and four-team alignment.
This year, both the Bills and Dolphins were forced to make significant changes to their rosters because of their salary-cap situations. The Patriots come off a four-victory season (their worst showing since a 2-14 campaign in 1992), and wound up with the third overall pick in the draft. The Jets were once again busy during free agency, and are still looking to end the NFL’s longest active playoff drought. The club’s last postseason appearance came in 2010.
So, what were the best additions and biggest losses for each of these franchises this offseason? Could there wind up being a change at the top of this quartet in 2024?