AFC Notes: Sauce Gardner, Aaron Rodgers, Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins, Jets

Dolphins

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa is 1-7 against the Bills since being drafted in 2020. He’s focused on changing the narrative in their Week 2 matchup in Miami. 

“That’s gonna be what’s written out there until we do something about that, that’s going to be the narrative, that we can’t beat the Bills,” Tagovailoa said, via ProFootballTalk. “Until we do beat them, and beat them consistently, none of that’s going to change. We have an opportunity to do that this year, we have an opportunity to do that this Thursday.”

Jets

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers made his return on Monday Night Football in New York’s 32-19 loss to the 49ers. Rodgers recapped his performance which included some great moments but it was an overall underwhelming performance for the Jets.

“That’s an excuse for sure. I’m not going to use that,” he said after the game, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “I don’t think we should. We expect greatness when we step on the field. There were moments that felt really good, but not sustained. We felt like if we could just get a first down, we’d be rolling. We had those three-and-outs, which really hurt us. I think a lot of stuff is correctable, which is great for coaches but frustrating for players.”

“We know how close we were/are, but there’s no time for that. We’re going to move on to Tennessee quickly and then we’ve got a game four days after that. This is a tough opener for us, travel-wise and schedule-wise, but no excuses. We have to play better. I have to play better. We’ll bounce back next week.”

Jets

Despite losing to the 49ers in Week 1, Jets HC Robert Saleh said this season feels like a better start than in 2023 when New York won its opening game but lost Aaron Rodgers to his season-ending Achilles injury. 

“You know what? Unfortunately, it does,” Saleh said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “It’s definitely going to get fixed. I’m not discouraged in any way. Obviously, they executed a hell of a lot better than we did, and we’ll be better for it.”

Jets CB Sauce Gardner also isn’t discouraged by their 32-19 loss to the 49ers. 

“They’re a good football team,” Gardner said. “You know, they just played in the Super Bowl.”

Saleh feels their offense is in a “really good place” now that Rodgers is running the show. 

“I think our offense is in a really good place,” Saleh said. “I thought it was a good first outing in terms of the quarterback hadn’t played in so long. But there was a lot of encouraging things, and I know it’s going to be a lot better once we balance out this team.”

Gardner revealed why he had a brief absence in the team’s Week 1 loss in San Francisco.

“It was a tackle that I made, I just had to get my wind back,” Gardner said, via SNY’s Colin Martin. “I just had to shake back. When I felt like I was good, I went back on the field.”

• Jets CB Michael Carter II’s three-year extension has a base value of $30.75 million, $18.064 million in guarantees, and a $6.082 million signing bonus. The contract includes base salaries of $1.366 million, $1.698 million, $9.698 million, and $9.698 million. (Over The Cap)
• The deal also has a $4 million option bonus for 2025 and per-game roster bonuses of up to $552,500 from 2025 to 2028. It also includes three void years for salary cap purposes. (Over The Cap)