AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills OL Ryan Bates said that he received a large offer from the Bears which is why he felt like he had to accept it even though he had told GM Brandon Beane he wanted to stay in Buffalo. 

“It’s something you can’t really turn down,” Bates said, via Maddy Glab of the team’s official site. “I come from a blue-collar family outside Philadelphia, and I’ve never seen that kind of money before in my life. You’re torn. And along the way, I’m just trying to make the best decision for me and my family.”

Thankfully for Bates, Beane also wanted to keep Bates as a Bill. 

“I told Beane at the end of the season, I want to be a Bill and I want to stay in Buffalo,” Bates said. “And thankfully, it came to the conclusion where I get to stay in Buffalo for the next four years, which is an unbelievable opportunity. I’ve created a lot of relationships in my past three years in Buffalo and these next four I’m going to create even more, so just looking forward to it.”

Bates added that his mindset won’t be changing after receiving his four-year, $17 million extension. 

“I’m not changing my mindset at all,” Bates said. “Even though I might be getting paid more money, I’m still grinding. As an undrafted free agent the first three years, you’re undrafted in the NFL until you prove otherwise. I think I’ve had the opportunity to prove otherwise. And I’m not going to change my mentality on how I attack every day and how I compete on the field.”

• Coastal Carolina TE Isaiah Likely has a visit scheduled with the Bills. (Jordan Schultz)
• Georgia RB James Cook has a top 30 visit scheduled with the Bills. (Art Stapleton)
• Georgia S Lewis Cine and Maryland S Nick Cross had pre-draft visits with the Bills. (Billy Marshall)

Jets

Jets WR Braxton Berrios has confidence in the strides that QB Zach Wilson can make entering his second year in the league.

“He’s willing to do whatever it takes,” Berrios said, via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “It’s easy to say that, but it’s another thing when you take the time out of your offseason training schedule to actually travel to different places. He’s doing everything to get everyone on the same page and making a real change next year. You can tell, it’s going to be a different animal coming into OTAs than it was when he was thrown into the fire last May with a new playbook and all different terminology. It’s going to be a different world for him.”

• DJ Bien-Aime of the NY Daily News reports the Jets have a top 30 visit scheduled with Florida State DE Jermaine Johnson.
• Bien-Aime adds that team sources he’s spoken to have raved about LSU CB Derek Stingley‘s tape from 2019 when he was a freshman but they want to dig in to why his play dropped off the past two seasons.  

Patriots

Patriots HC Bill Belichick continues to praise the longest-tenured member of New England’s roster, special teams ace WR Matthew Slater, even going as far as calling him the LB Lawrence Taylor of special teams. 

“Certainly Matt Slater will go up there, in the kicking game, with (Tom) Brady on offense and (Lawrence) Taylor on defense,” Belichick said, via ESPN. “So I feel very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach all the players, but I’d say those three in particular.”