AFC Notes: Zach Wilson, Kaiir Elam, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills CB Kaiir Elam said he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn deltoid ligament in his ankle, which he initially sustained during a preseason game. 

“Somebody made a big hit and I was running to the ball and they ran into my ankle,” Elam said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News. “It was just one of those things. I was competing for a starting spot and doing so well, I didn’t want to sit down. They didn’t put me on (injured reserve), and I just had to keep battling through.”

Elam was advised against surgery and was told it’d be best to heal naturally. 

“When I got my opportunity, it wasn’t healed yet, and it was something that can only get better with time,” Elam said. “They said if I got surgery, it would have been six months (to recover) and the doctor was like, ‘It’s probably best you just let it rest and let it heal.’ ”

Elam feels his time on injured reserve was a helpful reset for him. 

“Definitely, to fortify my mind. I know I can play at a high level and really have an impact on this team. When things aren’t going your way, you have doubt from the outside, and I told myself, ‘They’re going to find out as soon as I get back.’ ”

Dolphins

• Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said they saw enough from veteran LB Melvin Ingram during his workout to sign him to a deal: “He is Melvin Ingram. It’s what I could expect. … The workout is what we needed to see, which is why he’s here,” via Adam Beasley. 

Jets

Jets QB Zach Wilson feels their 30-6 win over the Texans in Week 14 is an example of their offense’s potential and now must execute for a second consecutive game. 

“I think it shows us what we can do as an offense,” Wilson said, via Dennis Waszak Jr. of the Associated Press. “Now that we set the bar there, we’ve got to be able to show we can do it again. I think that’s always the thing is, hey, you did it once, now you’ve got to show us you can do it again.”

Jets HC Robert Saleh is hopeful Wilson’s 301-yard, two-touchdown performance gives him a “new level of confidence” going forward. 

“No matter how confident you are, there’s nothing that boosts confidence more than affirmation,” Saleh said. “I don’t want to speak for him, but I would imagine that having the game he had is a new level of confidence that I don’t think he even realized he had and of knowing that he is capable. He knocked off a lot of firsts, I mean, he dominated in the rain, had over 300 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, he was working off schedule. He did a lot of things on his own and made a lot of plays that made everybody around him better.”

Wilson views his AFC Player of the Week honor as a testament to their offense responding to recent struggles. 

“I think it’s really a testament to this offense,” Wilson said. “We’ve been going through it, obviously, and momentum was a thing for us in that game and I just thought it was really cool how everyone kind of rebounded. So I think that’s something we all get to share. It felt good to have that flow as an offense and to score points and do what we expect to do every week.”