AFC Notes: Dolphins, Patriots, Steelers

Dolphins

• Barry Jackson reports that the Dolphins were disappointed when the Ravens selected Alabama CB Anthony Averett at No. 118 overall.
• Jackson says that Miami really liked Averett and felt that cornerback was an area of need for them.
• Another player the Dolphins reportedly liked but missed out on was BYU LB Fred Warner, who was taken three spots ahead of Miami in round three.

Patriots

Patriots QB Tom Brady mentioned during an interview with Jim Gray at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Santa Monica, California that he wished CB Malcolm Butler would have played in the Super Bowl.

“I wish he would have played, but the coach decided not to play him, and we still had a chance to win,” Brady said, via Pro Football Talk.

Brady said he didn’t know during the game why Butler was on the sidelines offering encouragement while the defense was on the field.

“I’ll say this: For a team, this side of the room is the offense and this side is the defense,” Brady said. “We don’t interfere with them much. I didn’t know. Malcolm kept coming over to me during the game and was like ‘Come on, TB, let’s go!’ And I kept going, ‘What defense are we in where Malcolm’s not on the field?’ Is it short-yardage, goal line?

“And then after the game, I found out. So I just didn’t know. And I asked Malcolm, and Malcolm said, ‘I don’t know. Coach has just decided something different.’ I said, ‘OK.’ So I don’t know what was a part of that decision-making, but I know we were trying to win the game. I don’t think we were trying to do anything but win.”

Steelers

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger tells Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that third-round QB Mason Rudolph can take over for him someday, but he plans to play “three to five more years.”

“Well, that’s fine. He can [take over someday],” Roethlisberger said to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But I plan on playing for three to five more years, depending on how the line goes and staying healthy, if I can stay healthy. If he’s going to be their guy, that’s great, but in my perfect world it’s not going to be for a while.”