AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Skylar Thompson, Patriots

Bills

Bills OL Bobby Hart has enjoyed a solid start to camp in Buffalo this season. He had 66 career starts before getting cut during his first stint in Buffalo and explained the team’s decision to let him go was a reality check.

“I definitely went harder than I had been going in the past because I don’t want to say you get comfortable, but you kind of get in a groove,” Hart admitted via Spectrum Local News. “It was kind of redundant. The same things had been working for me. The things I had been doing in the offseason. I had started three straight years so you just keeping on, keeping on. The same routine because it’d been working. But then when you don’t get the results you want you get back to the drawing board. Obviously I’m not doing certain things right or I’m not doing it to the level of my peers that they brought in. So I definitely changed a lot of things and went a lot harder because I didn’t like that taste that was in my mouth. Getting that call ‘We love you, but we got to let you go.’ It was bad. I didn’t like it.”

When Buffalo re-signed Hart, they asked him to play inside at guard. Hart didn’t hesitate when asked if he was capable of the position change and has been taking it in stride.

“You want to play guard? That’s how it went,” Hart laughed. “Can you play guard? I’m like ‘yeah.’ You’re not going to say no. ‘Nah I don’t play guard.’ So I just got in. It’s a good team. It’s a real good team, so any spot that they ask you to play, I just want it. They put me in and said you’re going in with the 1’s at guard. Can you do it? I’m not going to say no. So at the end of the day, it’s just ball. It’s the same techniques. Things at guard happen a little bit faster, but the willingness to just not wanting to lose is really just my mindset.”

Bills GM Brandon Beane explained that Hart’s ability to play four positions along the offensive line has made him more indispensable to the team.

“You first put him in there to see can they handle it mentally and Bobby’s done great mentally,” Beane said. “So we look at Bobby as a guy who can play up to four spots if we need him. Versatility is big. He’s better at some spots than the other, but I think Bobby’s done a great job and like a lot of guys he’s fighting to make this roster.”

• PFN’s Mike Kaye has heard rumblings about Bills RB Zack Moss being available on the trade market. He notes Moss is probably third on the depth chart and doesn’t seem like a long-term fit for Buffalo. 

Dolphins

Dolphins QB Skylar Thompson thinks that at the end of the day, his preseason performance speaks for itself and he has done everything he can to show he belongs on the 53-man roster.

“I think I’ve done everything I can do in my control,” Thompson said, via DolphinsWire.com. “I really appreciate my teammates did a great job of playing for me. Going out there, guys are making plays for me, blocking me, protecting me, allowing me to be at my best. That’s what I’m most grateful for, just getting the opportunity to go out and play this game at this level. That’s what I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, and all the other stuff is out of my control. I just try to have fun and put the team first in everything I do and control the things I can do.”

Patriots

Patriots QB Mac Jones‘ relationship with WR Jakobi Meyers has grown since the two joined together in New England. Meyers has developed into one of Jones’ favorite targets and someone that he wants to play his whole career with.

“Yeah, he’s a really smart football player,” Jones said, via NESN. “He’s been one of my close friends since I’ve gotten here, and I trust him. We see the game the same way, sometimes without even talking about it. So, we’re just working on growing together and making our repertoire a little better, with what he sees, how can he help me, how can I help him. Hopefully, we can grow together here. He’s just a tough, smart football player. I’ll take him on my team — forever, hopefully.”

Meyers’ great route running and work ethic has helped establish him as one of the team’s premier wide receivers. Patriots WR Nelson Agholor explained that Meyers continues to keep making plays for the team.

“I think all he’s been doing is just working hard and making the plays that come his way,” Agholor said. “I mean, we know what kind of player he is: He’s tough, he’s consistent. And I thought today was another example of him being himself — making the plays that come his way.”

• Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Patriots OLB Matt Judon wants to improve his conditioning in the second half of the season: “It’s a long season, and I got to be fresh. I have been asking some older veterans how they did it, how they went through and made it through year upon year being great, throughout the whole season. That’s a big thing I’m working on.”
• Reiss mentions it seems too risky for the Patriots to trade OT Isaiah Wynn now unless another team blows them away with an offer. 
• The Patriots are working out OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (Jordan Schultz)