AFC Notes: Browns, Jaguars, Patriots

Browns

Former NFL HC Brad Childress was a mentor to Browns’ HC Kevin Stefanski and has confidence that he made the right choice by appointing himself as the team’s play-caller for the 2020 season.

“I think he could because the thing is, nobody’s going to know what he’s putting in and it’s not going to fall off anybody’s lips any faster than it’s going to fall off Kevin’s,” Childress said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “He’s the guy that’s going to know the language better than anybody. I think he has a good feel for it.”

Jaguars

• The Jaguars promoted Scott Trulock to their Director of Player Health and Performance, Chris Driggers to the Director of Pro Scouting, and DeJuan Polk as their new Director of Pro Personnel. (Adam Caplan)

Patriots

Veteran S Adrian Phillips had good things to say about the Patriots’ defensive system.

“You see why they were so dominant for so many years,” Phillips said, via Zack Cox of NESN.com. “Just being a part of it and seeing how the whole defense works and how people play off of each other, you can see why they get so many — see why we get so many turnovers and why we make so many plays. When you’re looking from the outside in, it looks like one thing. But when you actually get here, it’s a big puzzle. And being a part of that and seeing that and just seeing how everything works is really beautiful. It’s like art. People compare it to art sometimes. But actually seeing how people work together and move pieces around, you can see why we’ve been so dominant.”

• The New England Patriots brought in former Bengals’ QB Jake Dolegala and former Broncos’ WR Juwan Winfree for tryouts on Friday, according to Mike Reiss.
• Patriots’ QB Cam Newton says that OC Josh McDaniels is a big reason why he wanted to sign with the team this offseason. (Jeff Howe)
• Newton also talked about if he will feel like he is in complete control of the offense on Sunday: “Well I would hope so. It’s an ongoing process to feel comfortable in this offense. For me, it’s not about this or it’s not about that, it’s about executing and playing at a level that’s premium and setting that bar — as people would say — the Patriot Way.” (Michael Giardi)