AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins Patriots

Bills

Bills GM Brandon Beane said his recent five-year contract extension is a product of the entire Buffalo organization. 

“Me getting a contract extension is a lot of people’s work,” Beane said. “It’s not just what I’ve done here and I’m thankful to everyone that’s helped me get to this point and, again, we haven’t accomplished what we set out to do, but we can continue the journey. I’m excited about where we’re headed.”

Beane said he felt motivated last offseason to surround QB Josh Allen with talent, leading to them acquiring Stefon Diggs. 

“That’s where at the end of last season, at the post-season presser I mentioned we didn’t score enough (on) offense. And I wasn’t blaming (offensive coordinator) Brian Daboll or Josh Allen or Cole Beasley or Mitch Morse or anything like that,” Beane said. “It’s me. What can I do? I still felt I had not done enough to give them enough weapons. That’s my job: to help him. And that’s my fear is to not give him and Sean McDermott and Brian Daboll the right weapons to be successful. And this year, they’ve all done a great job.”

Beane said he was convinced that Allen was the right quarterback for the organization and was comfortable trading up to No. 7 in the 2018 NFL Draft. 

“Whether you thought he was going to be a good player or not, if you’re around this young man, you knew that he was going to leave no stone unturned to be the best player he can be,” Beane said. “And I was willing, and we as an organization were willing, to live or die with that. And Josh has done everything we’ve asked him.”

Beane also praised Allen for playing through injuries against the Raiders and Chargers this season. 

“He leaves it all out there, you see how tough he is. He bangs his shoulder in Vegas and doesn’t want to miss a play, gets banged up against the Chargers and he’s trying to get to call timeout so he doesn’t miss a play,” Beane said. “You got to protect him from himself sometimes but it’s important to have that piece. … The two most critical pieces, you have to have the right head coach and you got to have the right quarterback, and that’s what I’m excited about as we head into the end of year four here.”

Dolphins

After trading for rookie WR Lynn Bowden, Dolphins’ HC Brian Flores and OC Chan Gailey are finally getting to see what he can do on the field.

“I thought he played well last week,” Flores said, via Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post. “I think he’s really improving and getting better. His progress over the past three or four weeks has been good.”

“That’s what you have to do in this league is you have to take advantage of your opportunities, and he did that last week,” Gailey said. “I think we will continue to try to use him and let him get some touches, along with some of these other guys.”

Patriots

Regarding Patriots QB Cam Newton continuing as their starting quarterback, OC Josh McDaniels said he must put Newton in better positions to succeed. 

“Cam’s certainly been the best option for us all year long since he earned the opportunity in training camp. Whenever the offense struggles, I know the attention is going to turn to that position. It’s my responsibility to put us in a position to be more productive,” said McDaniels, via Doug Kyed.

Patriots RBs coach Ivan Fears said he is unsure of RB Damien Harris’ status after sustaining a back injury on Thursday night. 

“I don’t know. He was much better by the time the game was over, which is great. … “We’re feeling pretty good. We’re feeling pretty confident right now, but who knows,” said Fears, via Kyed.