AFC Notes: Nathaniel Hackett, Mac Jones, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Dolphins

• Dolphins CB Elijah Campbell was fined $5,611 for unnecessary roughness.

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh told reporters after Friday’s loss to the Dolphins there has been no consideration of taking play-calling duties away from OC Nathaniel Hackett.

“There’s no consideration,” Saleh said, via Pro Football Talk. 

• Saleh added he’s “not there yet” in regards to starting Trevor Siemian at quarterback.
• After the game, Saleh was asked about his job security to which he responded: “No, I’m not worried.“
• Jets CB Sauce Gardner was fined $10,927 for unnecessary roughness.
• Jets TE Jeremy Ruckert was fined $6,370 for unnecessary roughness.

Patriots

Patriots CB J.C. Jackson admitted he missed Week 12’s game in Germany as a result of punishment for missing multiple bed checks before their previous game against the Commanders. 

“What happened was I didn’t travel with the team to Germany. It was a punishment on my behalf and that’s what it was,” Jackson said, via Mark Daniels of MassLive. “I didn’t take it any other way than, this is punishment and I hope you learn from it and grow from this mistake I made. And I’m here now, so hopefully that won’t happen again. It was all my fault. I made a mistake. That’s what you’re going to get from Bill (Belichick). That’s one thing about him. He’s going to discipline no matter who you are.”

Jackson said he wasn’t doing “anything stupid” and just made a mistake by missing bed check. 

“I was kind of late to bed check. They checked my room. I wasn’t there at the time,” Jackson said. “That’s what it was. It was nothing major. I wasn’t out that night doing anything stupid. It was just I wasn’t where I was supposed to be on time. Little mistakes, man. I’m a professional I know better than that. I’ve been around. I’ve never missed a bed check. Things happen. If I knew what that was going to cause, I would have never done it.”

Jackson reiterated he’s learned from his mistake and is committed to the Patriots. 

“Reality check – I’m not bigger than the team. I’m not bigger than nobody in here,” Jackson said. “This is a team sport and I have to do whatever everybody else is doing. I want to be a part of the team. This is my team. This is home for me, man. This is where I want to be. I don’t want to go nowhere else. I want to finish my career here also. I’ve just got to continue to build that leadership each and every day. It just stinks for me – I kind of played a lot of football. I know what to do at this point.”

• Patriots HC Bill Belichick said he informed all of their quarterbacks to be “ready to go” for Week 12 and he doesn’t plan on announcing starters prior to every game: “I’ve told everyone to be ready to go. … I’m not going to announce starters at every position,” via Doug Kyed.
• Patriots QB Bailey Zappe on starting in the second half: “We walked into the locker room, (Bill O’Brien) just looked at me and said, ‘You’re starting second half.’” (Zack Cox)
• Patriots QB Mac Jones on being benched after throwing two interceptions in the second half: “Coach O’Brien told me I was out, and I understood. I wasn’t moving the ball.” (Cox)
• Belichick himself commented on the quarterback change on Sunday: “Too much poor ball security on offense. We turned the ball over too many times. … Not good enough. Too sloppy on the ball security.” (Cox)
• Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster also weighed in on the team after another loss: “It was just frustration of wanting to put points on the board. We had a great drive, just didn’t finish. Just frustrated we had an opportunity to put points on the board.” (Dakota Randall)