AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia points out the amount of guaranteed money the Bills gave both RB Damien Harris and RB Latavius Murray suggests both could be on the final roster. Harris got $1.4 million, and Murray got just over $800,000. 
• He also notes Harris’ injury history necessitates the need for another power back on the roster. As for Bill RB Nyheim Hines, Buscaglia expects him to be primarily a return specialist with a few snaps on offense sprinkled in unless he takes to the scheme dramatically better than last season. 
• Per Buscaglia, Bills WRs Deonte Harty and Khalil Shakir will compete to play in three-receiver sets but first-round TE Dalton Kincaid will also be competing for snaps at their expense. 
• Buscaglia mentions Bills G David Edwards is likely a roster lock given the team committed $1.72 million guaranteed to him. It’s not clear if he’ll start, however. 
• Bills OL Ike Boettger would be a strong practice squad candidate for the Bills, per Buscaglia, if he ends up on the wrong side of the roster bubble. He notes Boettger really likes being in Buffalo and wouldn’t have to pass through waivers as a vested veteran. 
• Other players competing for the last few spots include OT Tommy Doyle, though Buscaglia thinks he could begin the season on the PUP list as he works back from a torn ACL, OT David Quessenberry, seventh-round OL Nick Broeker, and C Greg Mancz.
• Like Doyle, Bills DE Von Miller will likely start the season on the PUP list after tearing his ACL in late November and will miss at least the first four games of the season. Buscaglia says the Bills want to have him healthy for the stretch run and will proceed cautiously. 
• While Bills LB A.J. Klein could start at middle linebacker if young players like Terrel Bernard aren’t ready, Buscaglia writes he could also be the most likely player in the group to get cut, as he’s owed only $100,000 guaranteed. 

Jets

Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett knows from experience that his offense needs to create chemistry despite having good pieces already in place on the roster.

“Potential is one of those fancy words that we haven’t done anything yet,” Hackett said, via Antwan Staley of the New York Daily News. “Right now, we have some very good pieces, some very good people and players on the field. There has to be cohesion, there has to be a mesh. Aaron runs things on the field very uniquely, so there are a lot of things the guys are going to have to learn and get used to. Where that goes, I’m not sure. But I know there’s going to be some growing pains, there’s going to be some bumps. It is just about us getting on the field, everybody getting comfortable with each other and we will see where it goes.”

Patriots

Two years ago, Patriots sixth-round WR Kayshon Boutte was viewed as one of the next in a long line of great NFL receivers to come from LSU. His final two seasons with the Tigers didn’t go well, however, and Boutte slipped to the sixth round as there were some rumors about maturity and coachability concerns. Former Patriots RB Kevin Faulk, who was the RB coach at LSU during Boutte’s first two seasons and still works for the school, says he’s not concerned about the player his former team is getting. 

“All I can tell you is I don’t know where that came from. Because when I was with that kid, he was very coachable,” Faulk said via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. “When you say a kid’s not coachable, that means a coach can’t relate to who the kid is as a player. That’s all that is to me.”