AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots

Bills

• The Buffalo Bills officially ruled out LB Matt Milano (pectoral) for Week 5’s game. 
• The Bills brought in veteran CB Lafayette Pitts for a workout on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson.

Dolphins

• The Dolphins brought in former Saints’ CB Tino Ellis for a workout on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson.
• Dolphins promoted DE Tyshun Render to their active roster. (NFLTR)

Patriots

Patriots HC Bill Belichick said QB Cam Newton and CB Stephon Gilmore did not practice on Saturday but wouldn’t comment on whether they would play in Week 5 against the Broncos. 

“I’m not getting into a bunch of hypotheticals. We’re taking it day by day, hour by hour,” Belichick

Belichick said they are adapting to their COVID-19 situation “day-by-day” as they go. 

“One thing that we’ve learned this year, repeatedly, has been we have to be ready to adjust and adapt to changes and modifications in the way we do things, and in some cases decisions that really come down to a very short amount of time,” Belichick said.

Belichick added that he will refrain from making roster decisions until they begin game preparation. 

“I’m really not trying to make a lot of long-term decisions here, or even game decisions, until we can actually get out there today and start to go through our team preparation process together and get a better sense of where we are and what we need to do in the next 48-plus hours.”

When asked if the Patriots are on an even playing field without practice this week, Belichick said it was his decision to shut down New England’s practice facilities. 

“I feel like I had to make the decisions on what’s best for our football team, and what’s best for our football team is the health and safety of our team,” said Belichick. “That’s our No. 1 priority. Without that, we don’t have a team. We have to maintain, I’d say, the integrity of not only our football team but also the extended team — our families and the loved ones for every member of our team. That’s got to come first. I think everybody recognizes that, feels the same way, and we’ll have to work maybe a little bit harder to make up for some of the on-the-field practice time we’ve missed this week. But we can’t compromise the health, safety and well-being of our football team, including our staff. I don’t think that’s the answer. I don’t think that’s the way to go. In the long term, I think that’s going to be much more detrimental than a short-term adjustment that we have to make in order to maximize everyone’s health and safety.