Bills

Bill LT Dion Dawkins made a note on social media of his weight heading into the season, saying he will be the lightest he has been since entering the league.

“I’ll play the lightest I’ve ever played the game this season, since my rookie year. I’ve been walking, boxing, training, getting this weight off, man, cause they’re trying to tell me that I ain’t Top 10,” Dawkins said to NFL Network. “Every year, you put your body through different things, and I chose to put my body through a different thing. This year, I got goals, and I want to be the best left tackle for Josh Allen and for my team and for myself.”

“If I’m not Top 10, or if I’m not at No. 1, that means that I’m not at my best, which means I have to do better,” Dawkins added. “Everybody has to do better. So, we’re all going to be that and do that so we can get over that hump and we can be exactly what we want to be and stop talking about it.”

Patriots

It’s been a tough offseason for Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on the personal front, with an apparent affair dating back years with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini coming to light. It impacted his professional life when he took a leave from Day 3 of the draft to attend marriage counseling. There’s been speculation that the affair could impact Vrabel’s standing with owner Robert Kraft but he seemed to shut down that idea recently. 

“We’re privileged to have Mike as our head coach. No one is infallible,” Kraft said via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “What’s great about Mike is he has great intellectual knowledge about football — all the technical skills — [and] he relates to the players beautifully. He’s someone I have a strong belief and faith in. I hope he’s going to be our head coach for many years to come.”

Kraft went on to discuss his expectations for the upcoming season. 

“I’m feeling pretty good; Drake Maye is really special — a very humble young man who knows how to relate. So I’m excited but my sons always say, ‘Calm down.’ … my expectations are ‘We’re going to make the playoffs every year.’ If you make the playoffs, like we saw last year …”

Patriots

Heading into their first training camp together, Patriots QB Drake Maye couldn’t say enough good things about having WR A.J. Brown around and the impact he’s made so far. 

“Oh, A.J. has been awesome,” Maye said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I’m really looking forward to playing with him. I’m looking forward to getting into camp and building some chemistry, and I know there’s already some there for me. You just gotta throw it near him, and he’ll make a play. He’s a great teammate, he’s been great so far, and he loves winning, so we can share that.”