AFC Notes: Aaron Rodgers, Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Dolphins

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said putting QB Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve will allow him to heal without returning prematurely.

“I think the great thing about IR is, for a month’s time, there’s no timelines,” McDaniel said, via Dolphins Wire. “If you’ve set a timeline based upon the information you have today, how much of whatever goes on is fulfilling the prophecy of that timeline? And is that the right thing? With competitors, sometimes you can do more harm than good. Regardless, not worrying about anything as it relates to timelines is very empowering for him as a human being to recover from injury.”

Jets

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers said it is strange to go up against the Patriots in Week 3 given he played against new HC Jerod Mayo.

“It just gets a little weird when you’re playing against head coaches you’ve played against, you’re playing with guys that could be your kid, age-wise, you know,” Rodgers said, via NFL.com. “It’s a good reminder of how special it is to still be playing at 40.”

Rodgers is excited to make his return to MetLife Stadium Thursday night and is feeling good physically after the opening two weeks. 

“I mean, I feel good about it. It’s been a long time since I took the field at JetLife,” Rodgers said. “So, it’ll be a lot of emotions, for sure. But we’re thankfully already into the third game of the season. Played two full games, body feels good, about as good as it can on a short week.”

• When talking to people around the league, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes that opposing teams still see Jets QB Aaron Rodgers as a capable thrower and his passes still go “exactly where he wants it to go.” 
• One veteran AFC personnel executive told Jeremy Fowler that Rodgers isn’t the “magician he used to be” and is just a serviceable quarterback at this stage of his career: “More of a point guard distributing at this stage. Not the magician he used to be.” 
• An NFL scout told Fowler that he thinks Rodgers’ performance late in Week 2 against the Titans won them the game: “He made some big-time throws late in that game. Without them, the Jets don’t win that game. I think for not being in real game action for a long time, he’s been pretty good.”
• As for the Jets quarterback of the future, Graziano doesn’t sense that New York has any focus on finding their next option at this point and are just enjoying the present. 

Patriots

The Patriots lost team captain LB Ja’Whuan Bentley to a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 2. Fellow LB Josh Uche said losing Bentley is a big hit to their team. 

“He’s a big vocal part of what we do here,” Uche said, via Karen Guregian of MassLive. “It definitely hurts.”

Patriots LB Raekwon McMillan also acknowledged how their linebackers group “flows around” Bentley. 

“It’s tough. He’s our team captain. He’s our team leader. Everything we do in the linebacker room flows around Bent,” McMillan said. “He’s our guy on defense. He’s been the guy for the last two or three years. He’s the voice of the team. There’s a lot of times everyone on the outside can hear his voice, even though you’re not in the huddle. He did a tremendous job leading us to the point where we have to carry the torch during the season.”

Patriots LB Jahlani Tavai knows they will need players to step up in Bentley’s absence.

“Any injury on the team, it hurts, but it’s onto the next guy,” Tavai said. “It’s up to the next guy to step up to the challenge … there’s a lot of communication involved, but linebacker is linebacker. Nothing really changes. You have to go make plays. Whoever has the ball, you have to go tackle him. Whoever’s out there (in place of Bentley), we just have to make sure the communication from the front end to the back end is on point … we’re not nervous about it. It just sucks losing a teammate.”