AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, Nelson Agholor, Damien Harris

Bills

• Bills HC Sean McDermott said S Jordan Poyer (elbow) is “trending in the right direction” with his injury. (Sal Capaccio)

Dolphins

When asked if the Dolphins would be willing to use RB Raheem Mostert or WRs Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as return specialists, HC Mike McDaniel responded that he’s willing to play anyone at the positions.

“I’m willing to do anything at any given time at any given moment,” said McDaniel, via Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald. 

McDaniel added that there is currently an “open competition” for their starting kick and punt return specialist jobs. 

“There’s an open competition everywhere. Shame on me if I’m anointing for no reason. We have a lot of people that have the ability to return the ball in the punt and kickoff game. During the season we plan to utilize everyone that makes most sense for the team. Remember, special teams yards are yards. Same as defensive yards given up. Same as offensive yards gained. So, we’ll use our players to best move the ball down the field to score touchdowns or stop other people from moving it,” said McDaniel. 

As for the organization trading TE Adam Shaheen to the Texans, McDaniel said that they think there was enough talent in their tight ends group to facilitate a trade.  

“Different opportunities come across your board, and Chris [Grier] is outstanding about communicating and talking about everything. Bottom line was, to Adam Shaheen’s credit, he’s a well-thought-of NFL player, as he should be. And to our tight end rooms’ credit, we thought that we could afford investing in the future draft capital because we felt pretty good about that position as well. … We were happy for Adam. We were happy for the Dolphins.”

• McDaniel’s comments came before a failed physical voided the Shaheen trade between the Texans and Dolphins. (NFLTR)

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh spoke about OT Mekhi Becton suffering an avulsion fracture to his right knee, which will require season-ending surgery. 

“Since minicamp he’s been working his tail off,” Saleh said, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “For this new injury to happen, it makes everybody in the entire organization sick for him.”

Saleh added that the scrutiny Becton received online in the past year or so has been unfair. 

“These are young men, and I think sometimes with social media and this world, we dehumanize these athletes in the worst way imaginable,” Saleh said. “Mekhi has walked in this building, and he’s taking every single punch you can get from every which way. He shows up and works his tail off, and he grinds every single day. He shows up to camp, and he’s fighting to get himself back in shape. He’s got videos of him vomiting, and people are throwing shade.”

• Regarding the Jets signing OT Duane Brown on Thursday, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports that his position, left or right, has yet to be determined and it will be further discussed once he arrives at camp. 

Patriots

• According to PFF’s Doug Kyed, a source close to the Patriots expects the team to trade or release one of their veteran wide receivers and believes WR Nelson Agholor is the top candidate. 
• With second-round WR Tyquan Thornton earning first-team reps and DeVante Parker, Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne also in the fold, Kyed’s source believes Agholor is the odd man out. 
• Agholor had a disappointing first season after signing with New England last offseason but Kyed points out he’s been much better so far during training camp. He adds Agholor’s $9.9 million base salary would also be a big holdup in a trade. A straight release would save about half of that. 
• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wouldn’t dismiss the idea of the Patriots trading RB Damien Harris, especially if another team gets desperate and comes to them with a strong offer like a third or even fourth-round pick. 
• He points out Harris is in the final year of his contract and New England has a deep backfield, including two rookies they drafted this year in fourth-rounder Pierre Strong and sixth-rounder Kevin Harris.