AFC Notes: Mac Jones, Bill Belichick, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes the Bills could poke around ahead of the trade deadline for reinforcements to their defense after a barrage of injuries.
• Bills HC Sean McDermott would not rule out LB Matt Milano and DT DaQuan Jones returning at some point this season. (Joe Buscaglia)

Jets

• Jets HC Robert Saleh on WR Mecole Hardman‘s future with the team: “He’s here, he’s working, competing, and until someone upstairs says otherwise, we we’re going to do our best to try to find ways to get him involved.” (Rich Cimini)
• Hardman said he hasn’t asked the team for a trade and wants to get on the field whether it’s in New York or elsewhere: “I just want to play.” (Connor Hughes)

Patriots

• Doug Kyed and Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald talked to sources about why things have gone so south for Patriots QB Mac Jones. Sources close to Jones blamed the team: “To play the hardest position in the league, and be cycled through three offensive coordinators and quarterback coaches in your first three years, you rarely see players in that position improve.”
• Another pro scout for an AFC team said: “They never made a concerted effort to get true separators at wide receiver who can win 1-on-1. There have been a lot misses there in the evaluation process, in my opinion.”
• Jones is not blameless, however. Kyed and Callahan’s sources pointed to Jones’ poor reactions to pressure in the pocket as well as the adversity that’s hit the past two seasons. One source called him “bratty.” Another added: “He’s a panic player versus pressure. And he turns the ball over.”
• In what might be the most damning, a lot of internal opinions of Jones seem shaky. One team source seemed doubtful Jones would improve from a disastrous 2022 season when Kyed and Callahan asked back in April: “There’s definitely hope that he’ll improve. But I don’t think there’s a ton of confidence that he will. To be clear, I don’t think there’s doubt either. More just neutral expectations with a degree of hopefulness.”
• Other team sources were skeptical Jones would remain the starter after the past two games, with his continued hold on the job seemingly more due to the lack of viable replacements on the roster, per Kyed and Callahan. 
• The two also note that HC Bill Belichick has received a lot of the blame for failing to adapt in a post-Brady era. They mention the team’s lack of spending on offense, failing to significantly address problem spots like wide receiver or offensive tackle, and the fact that the front office makes its evaluations with little use of the advanced analytics available to teams like GPS speeds.  
• While some may question whether Patriots owner Robert Kraft would actually fire Belichick if the team doesn’t start to show improvement, Jeff Howe of the Athletic believes the long-time owner will be prepared to make a tough decision if the team doesn’t start to show improvement. 
• Howe mentions Kraft has lamented the team’s lack of a postseason victory in the post-Brady era on multiple occasions in recent years and has “grown frustrated, if not downright angry, over this shortage of success.”
• Howe notes the Patriots haven’t had a lot of success drafting and developing players with P Jake Bailey being the last in-house selection to get a multi-year extension, even though he was cut seven months later.
• As for Jones, Howe reports Belichick alienated Jones last season to the point where Kraft felt he needed to “take the temperature of the situation.”
• Jones continues to struggle and Howe says that had backup Bailey Zappe shown much in his two relief appearances, it’s possible the team could be weighing whether to start him in Week 6.
• Sources have told Howe the defense has grown increasingly frustrated with the offense, which ranks last in the NFL in points per game.
• Belichick on if Jones will be starting on Sunday: “Yeah, we’re not making any changes.” (Mike Reiss)
• Jones on his recent performances: “I’m not necessarily a young guy anymore. I’m in my third year, and I need to start playing like it. That’s a real thing when you’re not playing too well. There’s a lot of things I can do really well, that’s communicate and be myself.” (Zack Cox)