AFC East Notes: Oliver, Dolphins, Thuney

Montgomery County (Texas) authorities are dropping charges against tackle Ed Oliver, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports (on Twitter). The Bills defensive tackle was arrested on charges of DWI and unlawfully carrying a weapon in May. Attorney Gary Patterson said, via Berman, a lack of evidence prompted the charges to be dropped. Oliver may still face NFL punishment, but the 2020 CBA limited Roger Goodell‘s disciplinary powers on personal conduct issues. It is now certainly possible Oliver will be available for the Bills in Week 1.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

• The NFL gave teams the option of having rookies report to training camp Tuesday, but Dolphins first-year players are set to arrive at the team’s facility Thursday, Barry Jackson and Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald note. Florida has become a global hot spot for the coronavirus, and the NFLPA had expressed concerns about teams opening up camp in certain areas. South Florida, Houston, Phoenix and Los Angeles were the locales the union mentioned, per Jackson, and it called for an emergency meeting of team doctors whose franchises reside in the most-affected areas. But the medical experts did not indicate camps in those places needed to be moved.
• Minutes before the legal tampering period began in March, the Patriots surprisingly used their franchise tag to keep Joe Thuney off the market. The Patriots joining 11 other teams in opting not to sign a franchise-tagged player to an extension last week could point to Thuney being on the trade market. But the post-Tom Brady Pats are only carrying a $4.4MM combined cap charge at quarterback — a league-low figure, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes this will allow for more flexibility to carry Thuney’s $14.78MM tag number this season. While some major changes occurred in New England, the Pats are set to return five starting offensive linemen.
• While Bills, Giants and Jets players will not have to quarantine for 14 days upon returning to the tri-state area, Patriots players who have spent their offseasons outside the New England region will need to do so upon arrival in the state where they work.