AFC East free agency roundup: How do rivals look?

While the New England Patriots have been relatively quiet in free agency, their three AFC East division rivals have been extremely active and aggressive.

At the risk of coming across pretentious, some months mean more to certain NFL teams than others.

For the New England Patriots, the most pivotal months of the calendar are usually December, January, and February. That’s not to say the other nine months don’t matter – if anything, it’s the other nine months that make these last three relevant for the Patriots in the first place. But how many times have we seen fans, analysts, and football “experts” look at New England in August, September, or even right now in March, and wonder if this might finally be the year the team gets dethroned?

For the rest of the AFC East, the months of December, January, and February are often a grim affair. December and January usually see massive upheavals along the rosters and coaching staffs of all three of the Patriots’ division rivals, and February is little more than an exercise in envy if New England is once again playing in the Super Bowl, as they so often are.

So with all that said, we should come to terms with the fact that March is by far a more exciting month for Dolphins, Bills, and Jets fans than it is for Patriots fans. “Hope springs eternal” as the saying goes, and with the combine over, free agency calming down, and the draft right around the corner, it’s absolutely understandable for fans of the other three teams to believe they’ve somewhat closed the gap on perennial bullies Belichick and Brady.

Which AFC East foes have actually made up some ground on the Patriots, though, and which are just spinning their wheels aimlessly in the mud and wasting millions of dollars?