AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• Bills DC Leslie Frazier still has no return time for CB Tre’Davious White, adding first-round CB Kaair Elam and sixth-round CB Christian Benford will certainly be targeted this season despite positive performances in the first preseason game: “There are some things coming that there’s no way to simulate.” (Katherine Fitzgerald)

Dolphins

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel spoke about the rescinded trade of TE Adam Shaheen to the Texans due to a failed physical and thinks the tight end seemed “100 percent healthy” prior to the deal. 

“That is a classic example of the process of the National Football League just being spot on,” McDaniel said, via ProFootballTalk. “That’s the reason why it exists. He was practicing with nothing holding him back. We 100 percent thought he was 100 percent healthy. Such is the nature of veteran players. You occur nicks along the way and that’s why you have a physical before things can be finalized and the whole trade processed.”

McDaniel added that Shaheen elected to undergo season-ending knee surgery following the physical. 

“We were as surprised as I know Adam was, and that was something we definitely didn’t anticipate. But once we got that information, we had to digest it — all of us, including Adam — and once we got back and he got some more opinions, he has decided to get surgery, which puts him on IR and out for the season, which we are in 100 percent support of. But it is a classic example of ‘Why do they have this physical and why are trades not finalized pending that physical?’ I think it was an example of the process or reinforcing the process of why the procedures are as such. It definitely wasn’t anticipated. It was a nice little curveball.”

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh commented on the increasingly likely possibility veteran QB Joe Flacco could start in Week 1 following the injury to QB Zach Wilson.

“Joe’s a pro. He’s been there, he’s done that. He’s been a Super Bowl MVP, a world champion. He’s gotten the big contracts. He checks about all the boxes you can check,” Saleh said Sunday, via NewYorkJets.com. “I think he’s going to be fine, especially for the remainder of the preseason. We’ll see everything else with Zach’s knee, but we have all the faith in the world in Joe.”

Flacco isn’t getting ahead of himself and knows his role is to support Wilson and other younger players on the roster.

“I’m happy with my role. I love being here, being completely focused on whatever I’m doing right now,” Flacco said. “After practice, I want to be able to say I had the best day that I’ve ever had. Right now that’s what I’m focused on. I’m happy with what I’m doing, helping out a young guy. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have the desire to be good at what I do and didn’t believe I could play this game.”

As for potentially starting in Week 1 against the Ravens, Flacco knows there could be emotions that surface when playing against a team he led to victory in the Super Bowl.

“Obviously, people are going to bring it up to me,” Flacco said, via SI.com. “I’ve been in a bunch of games where guys played their past teams, coaches have played their past teams, and usually the emotions are crazy. Guys are acting like they’re so cool during the week, ‘It doesn’t mean anything.’ I probably thought about it a tiny bit. It’s so far away and who knows what’s going to happen at this point? But I definitely thought about it, and I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s not going to be a big deal,’ but deep down I’m going to try and make sure it’s not the biggest deal in the world, but I’ve been through it enough and seen guys go through it . . . it’s a different thing.”

Patriots

Patriots WR coach Troy Brown likes what he has seen from second-round WR Tyquan Thornton, who had a solid preseason debut. He added, however, he still has a ton of things to improve prior to the start of the season.

“Have I seen the type of growth from Tyquan?” Brown said, via Zack Cox of NESN.com. “He’s been here three weeks. We’ve been in camp three weeks. He’s got a long way to go.”

“Well, he was fast,” Brown said when asked about what the Patriots thought of him during the draft process. “He had a great time at the combine. We’ll see if he can translate it over to the football field. He’s a good kid. He’s all right. He’s got a long way to go. He’s a rookie. He’s got a long, long, long way to go. It was a preseason game.”

• The Athletic’s Jeff Howe writes the Patriots probably would welcome the savings of $10 million by trading WR Nelson Agholor but the catch is they have to find someone willing to take on that money and that’s probably a longshot.