AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills C Mitch Morse spoke about recovering from the concussion that he suffered in Week 15 and is feeling fully recovered. 

“Right when it happened, you knew that I was concussed,” Morse said, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. “And one of the nice things was I understood the process, the program, understood that all the people I talked to, the experiences I have gone through in the past. You know, at first it was a little emotional. But you kind of get out of that. And then you get into the protocol, and you get into the everyday deal. You start feeling better, you understand that it’s just one of those things. It’s part of my story and my football story. Feeling healthy.”

Morse admits that suffering another concussion was “frustrating” after sustaining the same injury multiple times while with the Chiefs from 2015-2018. 

“Your emotions are heightened when something like this happens,” Morse said. “It’s also frustrating that it’s part of your story, but that’s part of life. You know, everyone’s got something they got to deal with. And I’d had two good years of mitigating everything I could, and this is one of those things, it was just unavoidable. We handled it the right way. They were very precautious with me. I was very honest with them. You know, had some conversations with people that I cared about, and we just marched on. Felt very comfortable, felt very fortunate to be where I’m at and felt very happy to be back out there and get to continue to compete with the guys.”

Bills QB Josh Allen said he is happy to have Morse back in the starting lineup. 

“I’ve got a lot of trust, a lot of faith in him. So comfortable with him,” Allen said. “I know it sounds weird but even just taking snaps with him. We’ve been taking snaps the last 3½, four years so it’s extremely comfortable. Obviously, the player that he is and the mind that he is as well, it helps out our offense a lot. We’re happy to have him back out there.”

Dolphins

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel felt it was important to acquire Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent last offseason and the veteran quarterback has done well to stay prepared as their backup. 

“This is why we thought it so vital to go after him in free agency,” McDaniel said, via Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post. “This is why he’s done such a diligent job during the course of the season with his own injuries and such to be prepared for this opportunity. And I know the team is very excited. I feel very fortunate to have him and for him to get his opportunity that he’s totally prepared for.”

Bridgewater wants to build chemistry with his teammates in Week 17. 

“Every time you go out there it’s an opportunity to just learn different things about your teammates, yourself,” Bridgewater said. “And that’s pretty much it. We practice throughout the week, we throw routes on air. You get a good feel for the guys.”

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill is confident that Bridgewater will be effective for them and can execute the same package of plays they’re used to. 

“Every quarterback is going to bring his own swagger into the huddle,” Hill said. “And I feel like when Teddy steps into the huddle, there’s like a different mindset for us all. We understand Tua has his things that he does very well. And then Teddy, he has the same thing. He has the same certain package of things that he can do very well as well. When he stepped in for us, in the fourth quarter against the Vikings and came in and balled out, we needed that as a team. Teddy’s a guy who has been in his league for a long time and he understands and he knows what it takes to get the job done to win games.”

• The NFL and NFLPA have reviewed the concussion protocol situation involving Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa: “The review established that symptoms of a concussion were neither exhibited nor reported until the following day.” (Jonathan Jones)

Jets

• The Athletic conducted a trade exercise for Raiders QB Derek Carr with the beat reporters for various teams. The Commanders, Saints, Jets, Falcons and Buccaneers all made offers in the range of one or two Day 2 picks.
• However, the Jets representative had the lowest offer of just a third-round pick and a fifth, as they pointed out New York will already have some tough financial decisions to make this offseason without taking on Carr’s contract. 
• Tashan Reed, the Raiders beat reporter, points out that Carr’s no-trade clause is an important factor, as it will allow him to dictate where he goes. Carr’s contract also creates a deadline of three days after the Super Bowl due to his guarantees vesting, so the Raiders don’t have the strongest negotiating position.