AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• According to the Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia, Bills CB Taron Johnson‘s new extension includes $13.8 million total in guaranteed money and a $4 million signing bonus. There’s a $4.5 million option bonus for 2024 but the Bills have to decide on it in 2022. If they decline it, it’s added to his 2022 base salary.
• Johnson’s base salaries are 920,000, $1.29 million, $5.505 million and $6.452 million non-guaranteed. Buscaglia mentions Johnson has $500,000 roster bonuses in 2023 and 2024, yearly per game active roster bonuses of $35,000 and a $150,000 annual workout bonus, both starting next year.
• If the Bills exercise the 2024 option, Buscaglia says they can release Johnson ahead of 2023 to save $4.25 million in cap space, or ahead of 2024 to save $7.7 million.

Dolphins HC Brian Flores took responsibility for his team’s loss on Sunday that snapped what had been a 20-game losing streak for the Jacksonville Jaguars and dropped Miami to 1-5 on the year. 

“That’s up to me,” Flores said, via MiamiHerald. “I’m not doing a good enough job. Not playing consistently enough. Not coaching well enough. Not playing well enough. And not playing consistent enough. Some positive plays. Consistent ball — first half, a little bit in the second half but we’re just not putting it together. That starts with me.”

Flores emphasized the team needing to stick together and play as a unit and not turn on each other in the wake of their losing streak.

“We’ll try to build on the positives and try to get better, and we’ve got to stick together,” Flores said. “For us as a team we have to continue to stick together and prepare and give great effort.”

Jets

• Jets HC Robert Saleh hopes to get S Marcus Maye and LB Jarrad Davis back at practice this week and for them to play in Week 7: “It’s looking promising.” (Connor Hughes)
• Saleh added LT Mekhi Becton is still weeks away from being able to practice. (Brian Costello)

Patriots

Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne said following the team’s loss to the Cowboys that they knew first-round rookie QB Mac Jones would bounce back following his pick-six to Cowboys second-year QB Trevon Diggs.

“I think it’s big. Mac, he forgets really well,” Bourne said, via NESN. “Even when the play happened, in my mind, I didn’t point my fingers straight at Mac. I said, ‘Look, it was a ball off my fingertips.’ But in my mind, I could make the play, I could do something better. I think we both felt like that and that’s the result we got of the next series, and that’s why I think the play played out like that because our mindset was locked in to, “OK we got a chance’ rather than ‘What just happened?’”

Patriots LB Ja’Whaun Bentley also praised Jones, saying he’s “constantly growing.”

“That’s just showing the grit he’s always showed us on the field,” he said. “He’s constantly growing every day so I’ll give him the credit where credit is due. He’s constantly growing, it’s been great to see him grow. So in that situation of him making plays is big time.”

As for Jones, he’s only focused on the next play. He doesn’t let himself get too-high or too-low over the course of a game.

“Yeah, I think when I watch the film, I always want to find ways I can do something better, and I’m sure there was something I could do better on a lot of plays, and that play was one of them,” Jones said. “You’ve just got to play the next play and you’re only as good as your last play. At the same time, you’ve got to move on and just execute the play that’s called. I could do that better, and I will, and we can’t just hang our heads,” he added. “We’ve got to keep working, and no one is going to feel sorry for ourselves because that never works. You can get humbled every week, and you’ve just got to move on to the next week, and we’ll be ready to play next week.”

• ESPN’s Mike Reiss notes the Patriots bringing in K Riley Patterson for a spot on the practice squad is an indication of how serious K Nick Folk‘s injury that he’s been playing through is. New England wants to have a contingency plan available.