AFC Notes: Sean McDermott, Jaelan Phillips, Bills, Dolphins, Patriots

Bills

• Bills HC Sean McDermott said they are still deciding who will call plays on defense between him and DC Bobby Babich. (Katherine Fitzgerald)
• McDermott stated he hasn’t talked to S Micah Hyde about what the veteran plans on doing for 2024. (Sal Capaccio)
• On CB Tre’Davious White and LB Matt Milano, McDermott mentioned both are doing well and he has “seen a good bit” of them around Buffalo. When asked about White specifically, McDermott said there’s “no timetable” for his return. (Fitzgerald)

Dolphins

Dolphins EDGE Jaelan Phillips admitted that it will be difficult to move forward without CB Xavien Howard and DL Emmanuel Ogbah on the defense.

“It’s going to be tough,” Phillips said, via PFT. “Me, personally, Emmanuel was somebody who had me under his wings since I came in as a rookie. It’s really unfortunate to see him go, but the team’s going to rally around each other. Definitely going to miss my brother. Same thing with X. Those two were staples on this team for quite a while.”

Patriots

Chad Graff of The Athletic went through his mailbag and touched on different topics for the Patriots’ offseason. From the quarterback debate to NFL Draft targets, Graff covers the biggest debates in New England.

• Starting with the lack of spending in New England, Graff believes owner Robert Kraft gave former HC Bill Belichick permission to spend as need be but Belichick never operated that way. With Belichick no longer around, Graff thinks the Patriots’ spending will take off beginning with this year.
• Graff mentions there’s a belief from high-ranking officials that the ideal way to build the team would be to use the third pick to take a quarterback and then figure everything else out.
• Graff doesn’t get the sense New England will be heavily involved in going after a veteran quarterback like Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield or Justin Fields.
• When it comes to QB Mac Jones, Graff expects him to be traded as both sides could use a new start. Graff predicts the return to be an early Day 3 pick.