AFC Notes: Jets, Patriots, Texans

Jets

• According to Albert Breer, the Jets have already worked out UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and the team is scheduled to work out Wyoming’s Josh Allen early this week.
• Interestingly enough, the Jets don’t have a pre-draft workout lined up with USC’s Sam Darnold, which Breer takes as a pretty good sign of how strong the feeling is in league circles that Darnold’s going to be gone quickly.

Patriots

Patriots owner Robert Kraft admitted that finding a quarterback in the draft is obviously going to be a priority for them.

“I’m going to put my fan hat on, and obviously at some point we have to,” Kraft said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Not just that, but think what happened in the ’08 season when in the first quarter against Kansas City, Tom [Brady] goes out. How many people would have said that Matt Cassel would have led us to an 11-5 season? I put my faith and confidence in Bill [Belichick]. He knows his responsibilities. Anything can happen, even if Tom comes in [and is in] tip-top shape.

“Part of why the networks pay us the funding they do, and the reason this is the best entertainment product in America, is you don’t know — one play can change a whole season. One play with one person. To do a good job managing an NFL franchise, we’ve always said understanding quality depth management, that’s our business.”

• Albert Breer mentions that his sense regarding Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is that it’s going to take a pay raise for him to return for the 2018 season.
• Breer says he’d make a call to New England if he was another team to see if Gronkowski is available for trade and whether Bill Belichick has reached the point where he’s ready to deal Gronk.

Texans

The Texans lost RT Derek Newton to ruptured patellar tendons in both knees during the 2016 season.

According to HC Bill O’Brien, Newton is on schedule in regards to his rehab and working very hard to get back on the field.

“I would say he’s on schedule, but I wouldn’t say that he’d be able to a ton of things this spring,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said, via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “Nobody’s worked harder than Derek Newton to try to get back to where he is.

“He’s a very hardworking guy. The guy’s been in there every single day at 6 a.m. five days a week. He probably comes in on the weekends on his own. I would say he’s probably not [going to be] able to do a bunch of field work. He can, rehab-wise, but not in team periods and things like that.”