AFC Notes: Mike McDaniel, Aaron Rodgers, Robert Saleh, Dolphins, Jets

Dolphins

The Dolphins had yet to beat a winning team before they managed to beat the Cowboys on Sunday. 

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel admitted that it’s hard to ignore the outside noise sometimes, but he’s happy the team was able to get the win and put that narrative to rest. 

“I think it’s really hard to ignore the noise. I think you’re going to hear it,” McDaniel said, via DolphinsWire.com. “This is a big win for this team because it’s always big when you do something that internally you know you’re capable of. Nobody on this team thought we were going to lose that game.”

• McDaniel on WR Jaylen Waddle: “As of today, it’s seems to be more of a high ankle that we’ll need to get more information on.” (Adam Beasley)
• McDaniel said RB Raheem Mostert wanted to return from injury before adding: “We could tell it was pretty painful at times. Thought that gave us the best chance in that particular situation.” (Barry Jackson)

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh admitted that they could have done better in terms of winning games after the injury to Aaron Rodgers. 

“When you have a Hall of Fame quarterback, you’re going to build it around his strengths, period,” Saleh said, via ESPN.com. “That’s a very common thing throughout the league. It’s not just a Jets thing. That’s leaguewide.

“Could we have done things better? I’m talking about myself and the coaching staff, with regards to, ‘All right, this is our worst-case scenario, now what?’ Absolutely, and it’s something that we will make sure that we do a heck of a lot better with in 2024.”

“It’s been a grind,” Saleh said. “Everybody closes their eyes and imagines success right away, but we knew there was going to be a process. Obviously, we all felt great coming in this year with all the expectations and hype that’s around the football team — and that was awesome. It hasn’t gone the way we obviously wanted, but it doesn’t mean that the goal of winning championships is over. I still think we’ve got a really good football team. I’ve said it before: I think we’ve built a championship roster. There’s a lot of things that we’ve learned through adversity over the last three months since Aaron’s injury that will help us.”

Saleh added that owner Woody Johnson “has never wavered on his support for us and the things we’re trying to get done.”

“It’s been a grind,” Saleh said. “Everybody closes their eyes and imagines success right away, but we knew there was going to be a process. Obviously, we all felt great coming in this year with all the expectations and hype that’s around the football team — and that was awesome.

“It hasn’t gone the way we obviously wanted, but it doesn’t mean that the goal of winning championships is over. I still think we’ve got a really good football team. I’ve said it before: I think we’ve built a championship roster. There’s a lot of things that we’ve learned through adversity over the last three months since Aaron’s injury that will help us.”

• Saleh on the thought of the team losing to get a better draft position: “As a fan, I get it. But I would challenge the fan to walk into the locker room and look at all the men (in there). We’re all competitive. Nobody wants to step on the field and have bad effort … there’s a lot of pride.” (Zack Rosenblatt)
• Saleh doesn’t know if QB Zach Wilson will be able to play on Thursday but did say that TE Jeremy Ruckert is in concussion protocol and will miss the game. (Rosenblatt)
• Saleh says he’s “hopeful” that Wilson can play, but “he’s not out of the woods yet.” (Rich Cimini)