AFC Notes: Browns, Jets, Patriots, Titans

Browns

Browns LT Joe Thomas tells Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal that the team’s recent decision to give him a pay raise next year, despite the fact that he suffered a season-ending injury “shows their love and appreciation” for him.

“It’s just the way that the team shows their love and appreciation for you. In the NFL, how do you show love and appreciation for what your players are doing? You pay them,” Thomas said. “The conversation came up about two years ago actually. So they’ve been talking about giving me a market adjustment for my contract since I did sign it so long ago [in 2011] and since I’ve tried to go about my business as well as I possibly can, representing the organization, playing as well as I can, trying to be a team player, and they felt a market adjustment was not only good for me, of course, but good for them, good for their business, because when you reward players when you don’t have to, that sends a message to the locker room that says, “If you do the right things and you put yourself on the line for this team, we’ll reward you, even if you’re under contract.

“Because in the NFL, it’s a one-sided contract. When the team is ready to get rid of you, they just cut you if you’re not playing up to your contract. If you’re out playing your contract, your only possibility of getting your raise or a market value adjustment is to either make a huge stink, demand a trade or hold out.

“I told them that’s not the type of person I am. So I think they realized it’s the right thing to do, and it sends a good message going forward to the rest of the players in the locker room.”

Jets

• The Jets brought in CB Michael Hunter for a workout. (Howard Balzer)

Patriots

• The Patriots worked out DB Lorenzo Jerome on Tuesday. (Mike Reiss)

Titans

Titans S Kevin Byard, who has six interceptions this season, said he feels like he is in “a zone right now.”

“I just feel like I’ve been in kinda like a zone right now, everything’s just clicking, playing w/ great technique, doing what I’ve been coached to do…..the ball is just finding its way to me,” said Byard, via SiriusXM NFL Radio.