AFC Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• Bills DT Harrison Phillips doesn’t expect DT Star Lotulelei to return from the COVID-19 list this week: “Unfortunately it seems like Star (Lotulelei) is out.” (Joe Buscaglia)

Jets

• Jets HC Robert Saleh said WR Denzel Mims‘ availability for Week 11 is “in doubt” and needs one more negative COVID-19 test before clearing protocols. 
• Regarding Jets QB Zach Wilson‘s knee injury, Saleh said his ligaments are structurally fine and just needs to build confidence: “It’s confidence more than anything.” (Rich Cimini)
• Saleh mentioned that Wilson is considered doubtful but “progressing well” in individual drills. (Rich Cimini)

Patriots

Patriots S Devin McCourty compared OLB Matt Judon‘s quick transition into their system to Cam Newton‘s time with New England last season. 

“It’s funny. It happens every year,” McCourty said, via Zack Cox of NESN. “You guys probably hear it more than we do when you ask the question — ‘How is it (playing in New England)? What do you think?’ But I think it falls under we can’t assume who people are just because we see them on a TV screen. It’s the same thing we talked about last year when Cam (Newton) got here. I think everyone thought Cam was whatever we got to see at the games, what people wrote articles about, but then he gets here and you get to know him.”

McCourty believes there’s a misconception that certain players won’t work out well in New England and named former RB LeGarrette Blount as a player who proved people wrong with the Patriots. 

“To me, that’s why I always say you’ve got to get to know people, and then you’ll know how they are, who they are, what they like,” McCourty said. “But to try to assume — I think it’s funny, just playing here my whole career, how all of these guys (supposedly) won’t work in our locker room. And it’s like, we don’t know these guys. Like, LeGarrette Blount leaves and goes to Pittsburgh, and they’re like, ‘Man, he’s bad. It didn’t work out.’ And then he comes back here, I think it was around midseason (in 2014), and plugged right back in. Same thing when him and (Aqib) Talib came from Tampa.”

McCourty added that their “day-to-day” operations are generally not what people expect from outside of the organization. 

“So I would say between Coach (Belichick) not being what people expect and I would say overall our just day-to-day not being what people expect — because a lot of other people talk about how it is here, and a lot of those people have never played here,” McCourty said.