AFC Notes: Jaguars, Jets, Patriots

Jaguars

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles said Saturday night on a conference call after signing a new three-year extension that he’ll need another two weeks of rehab after undergoing right wrist surgery this offseason. The good news, however, is that he expects to be cleared by early March.

“For these next two weeks to kind of get me to that six-week mark of the rehab and be 100 percent cleared, we came up with a program here that [head athletic trainer Scott] Trulock and us talked about,” Bortles said, via ESPN.com. “Just as far as controlling the amount of throws, the velocity, the yardage and doing that. So that’ll take place for the next two weeks, and ideally I’ll be cleared and back to just my normal throwing program four days a week trying to get everything tuned up and ready to go for OTAs.”

Regarding his new contract, Bortles said his goal all along was to earn a second contract from the Jaguars.

“Everybody dreams of making $100 million, or the quarterbacks are kind of expected to sign that big deal, and that was never something that was very important to me,” Bortles said. “I think signing the second deal with the team that drafted you was my goal from the beginning. It’s been done, and I’m excited and I think thrilled and proud of myself for being able to do that. There’s obviously still a lot of work that needs to go on.”

Jets

• Mannish Mehta of the New York Daily News takes a look at five intriguing 2018 draft prospects outside of the quarterback position to keep an eye on for the Jets.
• Mehta’s list includes Notre Dame G Quenton Nelson, Iowa CB Josh Jackson, USC RB Ronald Jones II, Iowa C James Daniels, and LSU OLB Arden Key.

Patriots

• Mike Reiss of ESPN reports that Patriots OL coach Dante Scarnecchia was among the coaches who officially returned to work last week.
• There had been some question whether Scarnecchia would return for the 2018 season, but Reiss says that barring something unexpected, he should be back on the sidelines for the Patriots.