AFC Notes: Aaron Rodgers, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills DT DaQuan Jones had high praise of DE Gregory Rousseau‘s three-sack performance in Week 1 against the Cardinals, calling him a spark for their defense. 

“We all kind of fed off his energy and the vibe,” Jones said, via John Wawrow of the Associated Press. “To see him go out there and to see his confidence keep growing, I honestly would say he sparked our defense.”

Jones said Rousseau has proven to have a calm mindset on gamedays. 

“He does a good job of self-policing his mental state, and that’s hard to do in this league,” Jones said. “People are telling him, ‘Greg, you got to step up and all this other stuff.′ For him to sit there and to have the fortitude of his own belief and to go out there and continue to be himself, it’s huge.”

Bills HC Sean McDermott jokingly said achieving three sacks per game is unrealistic, but feels Rousseau understands how some games will be better than others.

“I’m not a math major, but I think 17 (games) times 3 (sacks) would be like a record maybe, right?” McDermott said. “Look, the game’s going to come to him at times like it did the other day, and then sometimes you’re going to go up against some really good competition, and they’re going to win some. I think he’s mature like that, and he understands that, and he knows he’s always trying to grow each and every week and improve.”

• Bills HC Sean McDermott said they’ve ruled out CB Taron Johnson (forearm) and DE Dawuane Smoot (toe) from Week 2’s Thursday Night game against the Dolphins, while DE Javon Solomon (oblique) is considered doubtful, via Chris Brown. 

Dolphins

• Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey‘s three-year extension has a base value of $72.1 million, $29.235 million in guarantees, and a $31.958 million signing bonus. The contract has base salaries of $10 million, $10 million, and $21.125 million from 2026-2028. (Over The Cap)
• Ramsey has option bonuses totaling $35.95 million, roster bonuses totaling $10 million from 2025 to 2028, and per-game roster bonuses of up to $765k per year from 2025 to 2028.
• Ramsey’s cap number in 2024 was unchanged but his 2025 cap number decreased by $9.58 million. The contract also has three void years for salary cap purposes. 
• Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel called it a positive experience for OLB Jaelan Phillips and Ramsey in their first game back from injury: “Playing over 50% of snaps – the only way that happens is you’re testing waters and feel very good about what’s occurring.” (Barry Jackson)
• Miami DC Anthony Weaver on playing CB Storm Duck over CB Ethan Bonner: “Not anything Ethan hasn’t done. We have the utmost faith in him. This Storm kid has played himself into that role.” (Joe Schad)
• McDaniel said RB Raheem Mostert (chest) has been ruled out for Week 2’s Thursday Night game against the Bills, while RB De’Von Achane (ankle) will be a game-time decision, per Marcel Louis-Jacques. 
• When explaining Tyreek Hill‘s comments during his incident with police about having knee surgery, McDaniel said the receiver had “a minor procedure” on his knee, via Adam Beasley.

Jets

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers doesn’t feel a sense of urgency after the team dropped the season opener.

“I think we always have to stay relaxed,” he said, via ESPN. “It’s a long season. I think, at times, people think the season is like you’re out in the prairie or the desert and you’re moving around trying to find water, but it’s more like a nice, slow Bolero, where we’re just swaying with the music and reacting to whatever comes to us and through us, just trying to not get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.”

Overall, Rodgers was satisfied with his first game action in nearly two years.

“I feel good about what I did out there,” he said. “For the most part, I felt like my feet were good, the perfunctory signals were good [and] subtle adjustments. There are some things I can clean up, for sure, but it was good to get back out there and feel like I was in the flow at least.“