AFC Notes: Von Miller, Odell Beckham, Bills, Dolphins, Ravens

Bills

Bills LB Von Miller said he wasn’t quite back to football shape and will remain out, something that is supported by GM Brandon Beane.

“There was a chance he would be practicing soon, kind of working his way–He just, not quite there,” Beane said via video conference. “We just don’t think he would have been ready to immediately start the season so we’re just going to try and play it smart. Give him a little bit of extra time.”

“I didn’t have any pride either way it went. Of course I wanted to play, I mean, I’m a football player, I wanted to play,” Miller added. “It wasn’t enough time for football.”

Dolphins

• Dolphins LS Blake Ferguson‘s three-year, $4.06 million contract extension includes a $550,000 signing bonus and base salaries of $1.125 million, $1.17 million and $1.215 million over the new years of the deal. (Over The Cap)

Ravens

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta recalled the process of signing veteran WR Odell Beckham Jr., saying he was surprised to get a deal done. 

“I couldn’t believe it,” DeCosta said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “We closed the deal that night, maybe the next morning. It was a crazy thing. Nobody thought that was going to happen and it did. You could start feeling the momentum a little bit, building and building.”

Regarding Lamar Jackson‘s extension, DeCosta said he had a long conversation with Jackson where the quarterback expressed his frustrations and vision for the team. 

“We spent three hours together,” DeCosta said. “He had a chance to talk to me. He had a chance to voice his thoughts on the team, me, the organization, his contract, his dreams, his hopes. I heard him. I heard what he said. I heard his frustrations. I saw who he was at that moment. That really helped me. It didn’t help us necessarily get a deal done at that point, but that was an important step.”

As for the tension surrounding Jackson’s deal, DeCosta mentioned he wanted to make sure he explored all their possible options before deciding on the deal. 

“I definitely felt at various times, the frustrations,” DeCosta said. “But I’m always trying to figure out the next thing. If this doesn’t work, maybe this will. If this doesn’t work, let’s try this. What’s the solution? When I think about my role as a general manager, one of the most important responsibilities is being a problem solver. This is a problem: How do we fix it? You may not have the perfect solution, but there is a solution out there that improves the situation you’re in.”