AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Zach Wilson

Bills

Bills DC Leslie Frazier had high praise of S Micah Hyde for contributing during team meetings despite being on injured reserve and has pushed safties Damar Hamlin and Jaquan Johnson to study his tape. 

“[Hyde’s] been really good for us,” Frazier said, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. “In the meetings, I’ve referenced him so many times with [safety] Damar [Hamlin], with Jaquan Johnson and trying to get those guys to go back and look at some of Micah’s tape and get a feel for how he operated. His words of encouragement to those guys, his being at practice, his watching tape with them, all those things have to help them.”

Hyde admits that being unavailable has been frustrating but feels it is “rewarding” to help out his teammates. 

“It’s been frustrating, but at the same time, you know, my role is a little bit different, so it’s been rewarding in a sense, too,” Hyde said. “Just to be able to see a lot of guys that I play a lot of ball with continue to ball, but also some young guys go out there, make a name for themselves. … I still have that same mindset of how to beat this team, but at the same time, not being on the field and having a coach’s perspective on each game has turned on some light bulbs in my mind.”

Hyde added that he enjoys acting as a coach while on injured reserve.

“I’m not a coach and I’m a player, but I’m not able to play, so I’m able to coach. I love where I’m at right now, but obviously, that’s not like a career that you can do long-term,” Hyde said. “So, I’m just taking it day by day, and I enjoy the coaching aspect right now.”

Dolphins

Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki thinks he can be a more effective part of their offense after recording just one reception for over five yards over the last four games. 

“In my opinion, I could help, but I’m just going to go about it in the most professional way I can and make the most of my opportunities when they do present themselves, if they do. That’s really all I can do,” Gesicki said, via David Furones of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Gesicki acknowledged that their offense is not built around him and he’s still committed to helping the team win. 

“Obviously, you want to be out there making plays, be out there in general,” Gesicki said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, but it’s not about me. This team isn’t built around me. I’m going to do my job. I don’t call the plays. I just go out there and execute them. Try to do the best of my ability. That doesn’t make me feel any way. I just want to help this team win football games in any way possible, whether that’s me being a good teammate or me being on the field — whatever it is.”

Jets

Jets QB Zach Wilson was booed relentlessly by a restless home crowd in Thursday night’s loss to the Jaguars and he acknowledged the way he played deserved it. 

“Yeah, it’s [tough],” Wilson said via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “I don’t blame them. We have a passionate fan base, and they’re here to watch us score touchdowns. We’re not scoring touchdowns, we’re not getting first downs, we’re not moving the ball and, obviously, we can’t throw the ball. Of course they’re going to be frustrated.”

He didn’t have many answers for why he struggled so much. 

“Man, I don’t know,” he said. “I just felt like I didn’t have any rhythm out there. [I was] just trying to find some confidence out there on the field, just find something to get us going — a little spark. I couldn’t get anything there, man.”

Wilson was benched again for practice squad QB Chris Streveler, though HC Robert Saleh claimed he was just trying to give the run game a spark with Streveler, who’s a Taysom Hill-style player. 

“We were trying to change up to get the run game going,” Saleh said. “I know Zach was struggling. Streveler came in, he ran a couple of plays, sparked the offense and got the explosive play. It snowballed in a good way for Strev. So we wanted to give him an opportunity to finish the drive. By the time we got it back, we decided we’re already here, so let’s go with Strev.”