AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills HC Sean McDermott acknowledged that QB Josh Allen‘s progress is “at the top of the list” of questions for Buffalo this season. The Bills are poised to take the next step as a franchise and not only seize the AFC East from the Patriots but become contenders in the AFC. Allen’s progress will be a key determinant if the team can do that or not and the young passer is under a lot of scrutiny. 

“Well, I think that’s understandable,” McDermott said via Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “Until you’re able to silence that, it’s going to continue to come up. I think at the end of the day Josh wants to prove himself inside the building first and I think he continues to do that and show his teammates who he is and what he’s capable of.”

• Per Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News, McDermott says DT Ed Oliver has some hip soreness but the team is hopeful he’ll be back in the next few days. 

Dolphins

• ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe notes Dolphins QB Josh Rosen has been the most consistent of the three quarterbacks on Miami’s roster and is performing better than last year. 
• He adds Rosen’s future is unclear as the clear third-stringer behind projected starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and first-round QB Tua Tagovailoa, as he could be trade bait or developed as a backup.
• As for Tagovailoa, Wolfe notes the rookie hasn’t really cut it loose and attempted much beyond 20 yards, though he did go 13-13 in three days of 11-on-11 drills this week. He also looks mobile coming off his dislocated hip last fall. 
• Fitzpatrick has been as expected for the Dolphins according to Wolfe, with some really good plays and some really bad ones. His experience continues to make him the favorite to start Week 1. 
• Dolphins OC Chan Gailey said the team’s improved size on the offensive line doesn’t necessarily mean anything: “Bigger is better only if it’s better.” (Armando Salguero)
• Dolphins OL coach Steve Marshall said the team continues to be impressed by the run fourth-round G Solomon Kindley is making to start at right guard: “We’ve put a lot of him and he’s not backed down a bit.” (Salguero)
• The Dolphins tried out DE Nick Coe on Thursday. (Albert Breer)
• The Dolphins hosted free agent QB Jake Rudock for a visit on Thursday.

Jets

• Brian Costello of the New York Post notes he wouldn’t rule out Jets GM Joe Douglas making a move to address receiver but adds there’s not really any prominent names on the block. 
• Costello adds Jets WR Jeff Smith, who transitioned from college quarterback, has looked solid during camp so far but the team likely would prefer if he wasn’t starting. 
• Jets HC Adam Gase says they want to move S Marcus Maye around a lot more and give him more responsibilities in 2020. (Rich Cimini)
• Jets OT Conor McDermott is week-to-week with his knee injury and won’t miss the season. (Connor Hughes)
• Gase said the next step for second-round WR Denzel Mims and CB Pierre Desir to return to the lineup would be to start work on the side, followed by individual drills then back into team drills. He added there’s no current timetable for them to come back. (Costello)
• Jets CB Blessuan Austin said his benching at the end of last season taught him a valuable lesson about situational football: “That needed to happen.” (Hughes)
• Jets WR coach Shawn Jefferson has high expectations for WR Jamison Crowder in 2020: “He had 78 catches last year. He became one of Sam’s favorite targets. He should make the jump to 90-plus catches, I can tell you that.” (Manish Mehta)
• Jefferson added free-agent pickup WR Breshad Perriman is another key to the team’s offense: “He’s definitely bringing us some much-needed speed on the outside.… He’s in the infancy stages of this offense. So far, so good. We can tremendously increase our big-play potential in our offense with him.” (Mehta)