AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills LT Dion Dawkins is extremely grateful for his new four-year contract extension with the team worth $60 million with $34 million guaranteed, which made him the seventh-highest paid tackle in the NFL.

“It just means that it’s time to go earn it. It’s definitely time to go out there and earn every penny of it,” Dawkins said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “It just gives me that much more respect and it just shows the respect they had for myself that, listen, this is our franchise left tackle and Dion Dawkins is a piece that we can build around and we can continue to win games with.”

Dolphins

• Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes that Dolphins CB Xavien Howard being placed on the COVID-19 list is additionally problematic given he is also on the Physically Unable to Perform list and unable to rehab from his knee injury at team facilities until passing the necessary protocols to return.
• Jackson writes that the Dolphins feel Howard and new CB Byron Jones could form “one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL.”  
• Jackson, citing several NFL sources close to Dolphins’ players, reports that there hs been “widespread praise” for HC Brian Flores after Minkah Fitzpatrick criticized how he was used while in Miami under Flores. 
• According to Jackson, the Dolphins made an attempt to sign Devin McCourty before he returned to the Patriots and have “touched base” with veteran DB Logan Ryan‘s representation this offseason.
• However, with Ryan considering himself a safety, Jackson writes that the Dolphins are deep at the position with Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe, third-round rookie Brandon Jones, Clayton Fejedelem, Kavon Frazier, and Adrian Colbert.

Jets

Now one of the longest-tenured players on the team, Jets LB Jordan Jenkins is sick of the losing culture and is ready to help the team turn the fate of their franchise around.

“When I came here, the Jets didn’t have a winning history,” Jenkins said, via Brian Costello of the New York Post. “It really sucks that in the last four years we haven’t been able to get it done. Me being back here, and I’m four, going on five years and I’m tired of f–king losing. We’ve just got to ramp [s–t] up and try to get the ball rolling. No one’s used to losing. No one likes losing. The sentiment is losing sucks. No one wants to come out here and play a game and just lose every game. Ultimately, we just want to go out there and win.”

Jets S Marcus Maye said that the team finishing the season 6-2 in 2019 should serve as a reason to believe going forward.

“I look back at the end of last year at how we strung a few wins together,” Maye said. “It just goes to show you that we do have the ability to put a winning season together. Obviously, that’s the goal every year to come in and have a winning season and to move on. Coming into this year, that’s our mindset.”