AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

When asked about whether the Bills are Super Bowl contenders in 2021, S Jordan Poyer responded that they have the “right pieces,” but must put it all together. 

“We gotta go to work,” Poyer said, via ProFootballTalk. “We got the right people, we got the right pieces. Every season’s different. Sean really always talks about what happened last season doesn’t matter. We still have to come in and work, still have to earn our stripes.”

Jets

• According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the Jets have made multiple contract offers to franchise S Marcus Maye since placing the tag on him. 
• Dunleavy adds the Jets’ offer of about $8.5 million per year to Maye was made before New York put the tag on him. Maye’s agents pulled their counter-offer off the table after they learned how much other teams would value Maye should he hit free agency. 
• As to what fair market value would be, Dunleavy says agents typically target the average of two consecutive franchise tags, which would be $11.67 million a year for Maye. That’s pretty close to what the Browns gave S John Johnson in free agency this year.  
• Maye is older, however, as he’ll turn 29 before reaching free agency next year, and Dunleavy notes that could be a complicating factor, as he’ll probably have just one chance at a major contract. 

Patriots

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer thinks the Patriots could take a similar tack to solving the contract dilemma with CB Stephon Gilmore that they did in the past with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski by adding incentives to the deal. 
• Those incentives would be classified as not likely to be earned and thus not count against the cap but Breer points out they would be just slight increases on Gilmore’s stats from last season and thus quite attainable. 
• While Gilmore is seeking a similar extension to the three-year, $50.05 million deal the Eagles gave CB Darius Slay, Breer doubts New England will be willing to sign him to that, and a trade doesn’t make sense either given how aggressive the team built this offseason and Gilmore’s importance to the defense.