AFC Notes: Aaron Rodgers, Mac Jones, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Jets

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers continues to sound like someone determined to recover from his Achilles injury and return to the field for at least one more season in 2024. In his weekly interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said being forced to watch the Jets play this past week instead of suit up for them made that clear.  

“Sitting my ass down to watch a whole game on Sunday was every confirmation I needed that I’m not done and I’m gonna keep playing,” Rodgers said. “I’m not ready to find something else to do on my Sundays and I still love it.”

• Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline says he’s spoken with multiple players who have relayed there is a feeling of dread in the locker room looking ahead to the rest of the season. No one said the season is over but there’s a definite lack of confidence in the number of wins left on the schedule. 
• Pauline adds other players have complained about it being more of the same on offense even with new OC Nathaniel Hackett. The game-planning has been criticized, as has the coaching, specifically OL coach Keith Carter and RB coach Taylor Embree. Jets RB Michael Carter was spotted yelling at Embree on the sideline in Week 3.  
• Jets HC Robert Saleh is also drawing some ire, for more than just his passionate defense of QB Zach Wilson. Pauline notes some players felt Saleh was trying too hard to establish himself as a team leader rather than let the players take ownership. He adds there’s some natural skepticism about Saleh as well given the team’s lack of success since he took over. 
• Brian Costello of the New York Post says the Jets started exploring their options at quarterback immediately after the Week 1 game, though he says the team was happy with Wilson’s performance in that game. As a result, they were just looking for someone to sign to the practice squad. 
• Costello says the Jets considered retired QB Chad Henne, Rams QB Brett Rypien and veteran QB Colt McCoy in addition to just-signed QB Trevor Siemian. Henne turned them down, Rypien was promoted to Los Angeles’ active roster, McCoy wanted an active roster spot, not a practice squad slot, and Siemian was mulling other options. 
• New York specifically didn’t go down the route of signing a big name like either QB Matt Ryan or QB Carson Wentz because they didn’t want Wilson looking over his shoulder.
• Siemian noted his experience with Bears OC Luke Getsy last year, who was the QB coach under Hackett in Green Bay, should help him acclimate quicker: “Some different things here and there, but it’s not my first time learning a new system. I think as a backup quarterback these are some of the things you get used to pretty quickly.”
  

• He added he’s arriving in New York with no promises from the team about anything: “I didn’t have a lot of expectations. No promises were given or anything like that. These guys have two quarterbacks. They needed a third quarterback. I had some good conversations and here I am excited to get to work.”
• Saleh said Siemian gives them a veteran presence for their practice squad: “He’s got a lot of games under his belt, quick learner. We’re just giving him the ability to come onto the practice squad and help us out.” (Zack Rosenblatt)
• Saleh said Siemian will not be promoted for Week 4 and wouldn’t elaborate on a possible timeline for him signing to the active roster. (Rich Cimini)
• Saleh said they haven’t found an opportunity to utilize WR Mecole Hardman: “You would love to find ways to utilize his speed but there’s a lot of guys we’re trying to get on the field … some of those opportunities just haven’t presented themselves.” (Rosenblatt)

Patriots

When asked about Patriots QB Mac Jones being labeled a dirty player, former S Devin McCourty responded there are things Jones needs to clean up that don’t belong on the football field, even if he wouldn’t go as far as to slap the dirty label on him. 

“We can’t come back and say, ‘No this isn’t what I meant to do.’ There’s a lot of players that have played this game, and they’re not involved in any of these things. So I think he does need to do a better job of finding his way out of whatever it is you wanna call it: the twisting of [Brian Burns‘] ankle, I think chiucago it was the kick on a slide or something and even last year, cutting my guy, the corner in Miami, Eli Apple, all of these different things,” said McCourty, via Andrew Callahan. “I think for anybody, you ca’t keep defending the same things. So I think he needs to do a better job of that. I don’t think he’s a dirty player or a dirty person., and I think somewhere along the line is his competitive edge, he’s doing things that you don’t really need to have on the football field. Ever.”