AFC Notes: Xavien Howard, Dalton Kincaid, Bills, Dolphins, Patriots

Bills

Bills TE Dalton Kincaid doesn’t believe he’ll be the team’s first receiving option and said they’ll be spreading the ball around to everyone.

“I wouldn’t say I’m the guy. I think we have quite a bit of weapons on offense,” he said, via Bills Wire. “You know, we’re going to open everybody up, and with Josh back there, he’s going to get everybody the ball. I think definitely a couple more targets this year, which will be nice.”

Kincaid doesn’t notice a major difference since OC Joe Brady put his fingerprints on the offense, but did note there would be tweaks in creativity and freedom within the system.

“I wouldn’t say [it changed] a ton, but there’s a lot of tweaks we’ve made since last year,” Kincaid pointed out. “I think the creativity and kind of freedom he has right now in terms of just testing things out is super helpful.”

• Kincaid preached a shared approach when discussing who will carry the load: “The offense is just going to go through so many people this year, that it’s gonna help everybody out.” (Alec White)
• OverTheCap points out the Bills gained $10.2 million on June 1 with the release of CB Tre’Davious White. Buffalo will split his $10.4 million in dead money with $6.2 million in 2024 and $4.21 million in 2025.

Dolphins

Dolphins CB Cam Smith said he didn’t get the opportunities he wanted during his rookie season and is looking forward to a better second season.

“I didn’t have the season I wanted. I didn’t really get the opportunities that I wanted, but I mean that’s that,” Smith said, via Dolphins Wire. “In the end, ain’t nothing given to you in this league. Stuff happens and I’m here so I feel like I’m free.”

Smith remained optimistic about his time on the bench and learning from the veterans in front of him.

“[It wasn’t] really that bad. I’m under two of the greats in the league, two of the best to ever do it, in [Xavien Howard] and Jalen [Ramsey],” Smith said. “I literally learned so much from them just sitting in a room with them just picking their brain and stuff like that. Just seeing what they see when I’m on the field. So it was just kind of really a learning experience. I just went to school for a year.”

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel was asked about Smith’s second year in the league and said that he’s attacking this offseason and is determined to make an impact.

“Timelines are unique to each individual,” McDaniel said when asked about Smith. “What I’m really pumped about is I know in year two that the relationships that he’s holding within his position and the coaches and the way he’s attacking this offseason is that he’s not satisfied with that by any stretch nor is the organization.”

• OverTheCap points out the Dolphins gained $18.5 million on June 1 with the release of Howard. Miami will split his $23.1 million in dead money with $7.5 million in 2024 and $15.7 million in 2025. 

Patriots

Chad Graff of The Athletic outlined how the Patriots’ offense could look in 2024 as they have a new OC in Alex Van Pelt and new QBs in Jacoby Brissett and first-rounder Drake Maye.

• Graff begins by stating they will be a run-heavy offense similar to Browns HC Kevin Stefanski‘s offense which prioritizes the wide zone run concept. 
• Although Maye worked mostly from the shotgun, Graff feels Van Pelt will likely run a lot of early-down under-center play-action plays like Stefanski as well. 
• Graff notes Van Pelt’s offense aims to make the defense uncomfortable by running out of pass-heavy sets and vice versa. 
• Finally, Graff expects the Patriots to use the play-action to set up deep shot passes, which is where Maye fits in seamlessly.
• Former Patriots RB Damien Harris shared his disappointment with former HC Bill Belichick’s staff in 2022 and claimed he knew the team wouldn’t work before the season started. (Chad Graff)