AFC Notes: Damar Hamlin, Quinnen Williams, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills GM Brandon Beane has been proud of how S Damar Hamlin has responded to having a cardiac arrest back in January. 

“Really proud of him to take that next step,” Beane said, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. “[I] texted his parents [Nina and Mario Hamlin] afterwards, like, just so proud of him and thrilled for where he’s at in his journey. He’s still got more milestones to hit, but to think back, we’re just at the beginning of June and that was the beginning of January, and we were just hoping he’d live, and now he’s not only got a normal life, but we’re talking about playing, not any football, NFL football. So, thrilled for him, all the people that have been around him, and it’s an amazing story.”

Beane said they are still building Hamlin up physically but the safety is “mentally ready to go.”

“We’re just upping his, building his reps up and he’s great, like, he’s mentally ready to go. He knows the defense. It’s Year 3 into it. It’s all that,” Beane said. “… I thought it was really important for him to, if he could and felt he was ready, you know, this is a two-way communication. This is not us saying, ‘You got to do this.’ He’s worked really hard on the mental side of this, physically he’s all cleared, but this is a real deal from a mental standpoint after you’ve been to where he was. But the next thing will be when we get to St. John Fisher [University, for training camp] … we’ll, through next week, minicamp, continue to ramp him up, with helmets on.”

Dolphins

Dolphins’ recently acquired CB Jalen Ramsey said he still plans on being a physical cornerback and staying on top of his training to fully recover from lingering shoulder injuries. 

“I think I’ve had the same plan like for the past three offseasons,” said Ramsey, via Adam Beasley of ProFootballNetwork. “So it’s just the same carry-over here. I play extremely physical. I play a physical style of game, and I recover my body the right way. I trust in my process. The training staff and strength staff here are extremely good. And we are very like-minded in the way that we think about my training regimens and rehab or whatever the case may be.”

Ramsey said he is “on the same page” with their staff on his shoulder rehab. 

“So, we’re all on the same page with that,” on Ramsey. “What matters is when the time is right, then I’m ready to go full-go, and that’s not even a question in nobody’s mind. So we’re following the right plan for me.”

Ramsey said he wants to help his teammates given he already has a good understanding of what DC Vic Fangio is looking for. 

“I just look at it trying to help out wherever I can because I know the defense,” Ramsey said. “So that’s really where I’m trying to help this offseason, this minicamp is if anybody got questions about the defense or if I feel like, you know, they could be more comfortable playing it. So, that’s where I’m trying to help. But honestly, all these guys are professionals, they got to kind of get it themselves, and any way I can help, I’ll give him my input in, but I ain’t like doing too much like forcing that on to nobody or man. It’s like natural right now.”

• Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel revealed that  LB David Long suffered a minor injury that cost him time at minicamp. (Cameron Wolfe)

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh wanted to reassure the media that the team was still working on getting a deal done with DT Quinnen Williams. 

“I speak for everyone — I probably speak for Quinnen — we all want it to get done sooner rather than later,” Saleh said, via Brian Costello of the NY Post. “I’ll let the business guys handle all that. It’s going to get done. He’ll be here for camp. He’ll be ready to roll. Once he is, I’m sure he’ll be the same guy he was a year ago.”

Veteran Jets LB C.J. Mosley said the team has spoken to his agent about reworking his contract in order to lower his salary cap number for 2023.

“They talked to my agent. I’m not really concerned or worried about it too much,” Mosley said. “I come here to work every day, focused on getting better and trying to win a championship and being the best player I can be. Whatever happens, happens. It hasn’t been a concern.”