AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Devin McCourty

Bills

The Bills will be looking to replace LB Tremaine Edmunds, who departed for a big-money deal with the Bears this offseason.

Bills HC Sean McDermott says they will hold an open competition at linebacker alongside Matt Milano.

“I think that’s good to see how certain players respond to those challenges and those opportunities really,” McDermott said, ESPN.com.

Bills GM Brandon Beane mentioned that they believe in the players they currently have at linebacker.

“I know everyone is concerned about [who is starting at middle linebacker], but we have good guys who are working hard. We’ve got a veteran defense around them,” Beane said after the draft. “Yeah, there are going to be mistakes. Yes, if you expect them to be Tremaine Edmunds Week 1, you’re not going to get that. … These guys are not going to be perfect, and if we expect that from them, we’re setting them up to fail.

“We believe in these guys, and we’re going to give them a chance.”

The current group consists of Terrel Bernard, third-rounder Dorian Williams, Tyrel Dodson, A.J. Klein, and Baylon Spector.

Bills LB coach Bobby Babich says the team isn’t in a hurry to find a replacement for LB Tremaine Edmunds. 

“I think what will happen naturally is there will be a conclusion at some point – I don’t think it’s worth setting a date,” Babich said, via video conference. “I don’t think that’s advantageous for anybody. I think the decision on who will be the Day 1 starter in September, it’ll come when it comes, and we’ll know, and our guys will have plenty of reps.”

Dolphins

Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle credits HC Mike McDaniel and WR Tyreek Hill for improving his yards per catch to 18.1 yards in 2022 from 9.8 the previous year. 

“It was just a mindset,” Waddle said via PRC 2 Sports. “Mike came in and really harped on YAC. Having a guy like Cheetah, who’s a YAC monster, you don’t got no choice but to learn from him and soak up all that game that he’s giving.”

Patriots

Former Patriots S Devin McCourty said he decided to retire after acknowledging New England was unlikely to win a Super Bowl next season. 

“I think, especially as you get older, you start to only play to win a Super Bowl,” McCourty said, via Arif Hasan Pro Football Network. “And I was like, ‘If I go back, I don’t think we’ll go win a Super Bowl. So as I started to sit there and be like, ‘Alright, what did I really set myself up for? We were 8-9 last year. Am I gonna go to another team? Is it worth it for six months?’”

McCourty felt like he understood it was time to walk away from the game after watching how WR Matthew Slater was working out while he was rehabbing from a shoulder injury. 

“A good friend of mine, Matthew Slater, is in there working out as I’m rehabbing (my shoulder injury) so I’m like, ‘Alright. … these next two days, I’m gonna go in here and workout,’” McCourty said. “And I’m in there working out and I’m now thinking, ‘I’m doing kind of an old man workout.’ And I’m watching him, and I’m seeing a difference between the way he’s working out and the way I’m working now. I kind of knew from right there it was probably it. I then went on vacation and just being with my family — I knew I didn’t want to do that anymore. And I knew some of the things I wanted to pursue, going on TV, doing those things, felt more important than going and playing football at the time.”