Dolphins

• Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley said third-round WRs Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas have earned the opportunity to start in Week 1: “We believe those guys deserve to start, and we’re gonna start them.” (Marcel Louis-Jacques)

Jets

Jets owner Woody Johnson has built a reputation with his meddling in the team’s football operations. New York HC Aaron Glenn reflected on his arrival to the organization, saying Johnson was forthcoming about the mistakes he’s made over the years.  

“When we sat down, he flat-out told me: Listen, I made mistakes,” Glenn said, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “I made these mistakes and I’m going to try to make it right. We walked out feeling really good — with a complete understanding.”

The Jets brought in former GM Mike Tannenbaum to help their search before landing on Glenn. Tannenbaum said Johnson emphasized resetting the organization. 

“Woody really talked a lot about how he wanted to reset things,” Tannenbaum said. “He wanted to run a very thorough, transparent process and just be open-minded.”

Tannenbaum said they tried a different approach than relying only on the interview process and wanted to make sure candidates checked all the boxes. 

“When people make mistakes, it’s because candidate X comes in, and you’re like, ‘Oh my god, what an interview, I’m falling in love with this guy,’” Tannenbaum said. “When you check references or you look at experience or you look at other things you identified as important, and they fall short, you have to adhere to: take emotion out, take recency bias out and let’s keep going.”

Patriots

Patriots’ recently acquired WR A.J. Brown was actually a highly prized baseball recruit during his high school athletic career. Brown reflected on when he decided to pursue football, saying a visit from former Alabama HC Nick Saban convinced him it was a possibility. 

“That’s when I felt I could really do this,” Brown said, via Chad Graff of The Athletic. “I still wasn’t thinking about the NFL, but if Nick Saban is coming here, I think I could (play college football).”

The Titans originally selected Brown in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Brown said he expected to be a first-round pick. 

“I wouldn’t even say ‘sneak in,’” Brown said. “I thought I was going in the first round.”

Brown’s move to New England reunites him with HC Mike Vrabel, who was Tennessee’s head coach when they drafted Him. Brown said that he initially didn’t like Vrabel “at all.”

“It was so tough,” Brown said. “I didn’t like him at all. He was so tough on me, and I didn’t really understand it. Honestly, it didn’t really register to me until I left what he was doing and how he was pushing me.”