AFC Notes: Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins, Zach Wilson, Jets, Patriots

Dolphins

• NFL Chiefs Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills said while appearing on NFL Network that Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t examined for a concussion during Sunday’s game because that only occurs when any player, coach, or official reports a player showing “visible sign” of a potential concussion. (Barry Jackson)
• Sills mentioned that only a small number of players suffer more than one concussion per season anyone who suffers the injury goes through the same return-to-play process, which includes a graded exertion protocol with no symptoms and evaluation by numerous doctors and independent consultants. (Judy Battista)
• Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said that they are not pushing Tagovailoa to practice or play: “I’ve been advised by medical professionals that it’s critical that Tua worries only about the day it is and nothing else.”  (Adam Beasley)
• McDaniel confirmed that Tagovailoa suffered a concussion. (Joe Schad)
• As for the Dolphins’ starting quarterback going forward, McDaniel indicated that Teddy Bridgewater will at least be featured in their upcoming game. (Marcel Louis-Jacques)
• McDaniel said that they observed “some things that caused us to really prod” Tagovailoa to meet doctors and saw “consistencies of things I saw on tape” about his condition that were concerning. (Jonathan Jones)

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh said the team hasn’t given up on QB Zach Wilson and reiterated that he’s still in the team’s future plans.

“The plan for Zach hasn’t changed,” Saleh said, via New York Post. “I still think he has a future here. I still think he’s going to be a really good quarterback. He needs time to just kind of sit back and continue the development that we were trying to re-kick-start, if you will, after the New England game. We still have him in our future and in our plans.”

Saleh refuted the report that New York will move on from Wilson this offseason.

“That report is all speculation,” Saleh said. “He still has a huge plan in our future and we’re not quitting on the young man. We’re going to do everything we can to develop him.”

Saleh expressed confidence in Wilson to turn around his career and pointed out that many quarterbacks have started off their career negatively.

“There’s a lot of quarterbacks in this league who have made it out of the dark tunnel,” Saleh said, “and if you look throughout the league more quarterbacks than not have started in the dungeon, if you will, and found their way out to sunlight. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him because of how important this is, what kind of a man he is and how hard he’ll work. With Zach, I have no doubt in my mind.”

• However, most outside observers are skeptical of Saleh’s comments and Wilson’s future in New York. An NFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler they thought Wilson would ultimately be dealt late in the summer or just before the season: “I think they do everything possible to trade him — but I think they wait until maybe even the preseason or into the regular season to get his value up. There’s nothing right now that says a team wants the Zach Wilson experiment and will trade a draft pick for him. But it could be a Baker Mayfield-type situation [with the Rams] where a team has injuries at the position and needs a spot starter.”

Patriots

Patriots ILB coach Jerod Mayo called ILB Ja’Whaun Bentley one of the most “underrated linebackers” in the NFL.

“Bentley is probably one of the most underrated linebackers in the league,” Mayo said, via Zack Cox of NESN. “I’m not sure why he doesn’t get much publicity, but he’s one of the best ‘backers in the league.”

Patriots LB coach Steve Belichick said Bentley is a “key part” of their defense and it is difficult to take him off of the field.

“He definitely impacts the game,” Belichick said. “He makes it hard to take him off the field. I think he played every snap this past week, and he’s just such a key part to our defense. His ability to kind of tie in the front and the back end, he does such a good job with that. He’s so smart. He puts in a ton of time to know what everybody’s doing. He’s very proactive in figuring out how things are going to look, not just in his eyes but everybody else on the field. I think that that helps him ? play a little bit faster based on what the guys around him are doing, and he has total command of the defense.”