AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots

Bills

The Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East for three straight years, but the other teams aren’t just sitting there and taking it. The Dolphins traded for CB Jalen Ramsey, the Jets will trade for QB Aaron Rodgers at some point and as long as HC Bill Belichick is in New England, the Patriots can’t be overlooked. Bills HC Sean McDermott acknowledged they will have their work cut out for them to make it four years straight.

“Yeah, we have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” McDermott said via NFL Media’s Judy Battista. “Not only at the coach level but at the talent level they’ve been able to accrue. You look across the division, and to your point, it’s impressive. So, we have to make sure we continue to reinvent ourselves to stay on top of the division.”

McDermott also acknowledged the team’s sights have been set higher than just winning the division, and they’ve painfully fallen short of those Super Bowl goals. 

“Things have to come together in every season of any sport to win it all and we’ve been this close, and we keep knocking at that door,” he said via Battista.

The players who have left the Bills this offseason have been bigger names than the arrivals so far. But McDermott said being able to retain veteran S Jordan Poyer was a win. 

“Yeah, leadership right away,” McDermott said. “Then the edge of our defense when Jordan plays, we have a certain edge to us and that’s a great quality that a player can add that to a team in addition to what he already adds in the X’s and O’s doing his job. That edge, that dog that he adds to our defense, is well known.”

Dolphins

  • Utah OL Braeden Daniels had a formal Combine interview with the Dolphins. (Justin Melo)

Patriots

  • When looking into the biggest surprises of the offseason thus far, Matt Lombardo of Heavy.com cites an AFC personnel executive who thinks the Patriots overpaid for WR JuJu Smith-Schuster: “That Juju Smith-Schuster deal was a surprise. Big contract for an average player.”
  • According to Albert Breer, former Giants HC Joe Judge‘s role with the Patriots will be as assistant head coach role and he’ll also have some personnel elements to his position.
  • Breer mentions Judge’s role will be similar to Patriots’ senior advisor Matt Patricia‘s position in 2021. 
  • Patriots TE Mike Gesickis one-year, $4,500,000 contract includes incentives of $350,000 for appearing in 46 percent of offensive snaps, $400,000 for 53 percent, $400,000 for 60 percent, $450,000 for 70 percent, and $500,000 for 80 percent.
  • Gesicki can also earn $300,000 for achieving 40, 50, 60, and 70 catches. He can also earn $300,000 each for reaching 450, 550, 650, and 750 receiving yards, via Mike Reiss

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