AFC Notes: Kenny Moore II, Will Levis, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

Colts DB Jaylon Jones said DB Kenny Moore II embodies a strong veteran presence and that his ability to continue a high level of play deep into his career is a testament to how he handles his preparation.

“Man, Kenny is the definition of a pro,” Jones said, via ESPN. “He just comes to work, he does the right things, on and off the field. That’s really what I get from being around him. And I think it helps all of us as young [defensive backs] learn what it looks like.”

Jones said that Moore has helped him learn the intricacies of the position and deal with off-field matters.

“We’ll be in the film room, and before the play even pops up, he’ll call it out,” Jones said. “Or, we’ll be on the field and he might say, ‘J.J.! This is what’s going to happen right now.’ And it happens. His vision, I feel like that’s where I’m trying to get. Kenny’s definitely a mastermind when it comes to X’s and O’s.”

Moore offered advice to the young players and added it’s not where you start but how you finish.

“Being a [Division] II guy, being an undersized guy, being a guy that only had a $2,000 signing bonus,” he said, “I hope they take away to just run their race, no matter the odds. No matter what’s said about you, no matter what you think about yourself, I think the ceiling is always as high as you want to make it.”

Jaguars

• CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones says there was a line of thinking in league circles that the Jaguars would have been the best fit for former Patriots HC Bill Belichick if or when they cleaned house after this season. 
• According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, there wasn’t a lot of backchannel communication between Belichick’s camp and any NFL owners, including Jaguars owner Shad Khan who’s believed to be heavily weighing a coaching change. 
• Wickersham adds former Browns GM Michael Lombardi, who is a member of the think tank of friends and former associates that helped Belichick this season and who will follow him to North Carolina as the program GM, took shots on his podcast at Tony Khan and his influence with the Jaguars’ analytics department that Lombardi thought was emblematic of the current problems in the NFL. So that bridge may have been burned already. 

Titans

Titans QB Will Levis has been dealing with a shoulder injury since September and is taking things “day by day”  going into Week 15.

“It’s definitely something that I’m using every day so it’s hard to give it proper rest,” Levis said, via Nick Suss of the Nashville Tennessean. “I was able to give it that rest when I had those few weeks off, which was nice. But it’s definitely a different scenario now. We’re just going to take it day by day and see how it feels.”