AFC Notes: Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills new DE Shane Ray described his mental state following his time with the Broncos when he felt like he had “no value” after finishing his rookie contract. 

“Mentally, physically not feeling like me. Feeling beaten up, feeling torn down by media, feeling, you know, just everything,” Ray said, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. “I felt like I wasn’t me anymore, and I had no value … and people that I thought were gonna help me through the process ended up fading away, and now it’s only me and my mom, and the other close people to me, believing in me.”

Regarding his brief time with the Ravens in 2019, Ray said he was still dealing with a lingering wrist injury at the time. 

“I don’t think I showed up how I should have showed up to the Ravens, honestly,” Ray said. “I was still dealing with my injury.”

After not signing with any teams despite having 10 tryouts in 2019, Ray signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. Ray feels like he rediscovered his love of the game while in Canada. 

“I had to humble myself — more humbled than I could ever been before. From going to Canada and buying in, you know — I can’t act like there was days that I didn’t walk in and I was like, ‘Bro, this is where I am? Like, I’m not supposed to be here,’” Ray said. “But that’s where I was, and I had to grind through it.”

Jets

Jets QB Zach Wilson has had to field plenty of questions about the team bringing in QB Aaron Rodgers this offseason, especially after comments he made about any player who attempted to replace him. 

“I can’t be bitter,” Wilson said, via SNY.tv. “I didn’t perform well. Of course, I would like to be the guy. At first, you’re not always happy about that. But I’m extremely psyched that out of any quarterback we could’ve brought in, it was him.”

“I think right now I’m having a ton of fun, more fun than I’ve had,” Wilson added. “And I think that’s just the quarterback room, being with Aaron. I think it’s feeling like every single day there’s so much to learn. It’s like every day I just learned 10 different things about playing the quarterback position.”

Patriots

Patriots QB Mac Jones said the team is “hungry” for 2023 after finishing with an 8-9 record last season. 

“Sometimes the most confident people come from a year where they might have not been their best,” Jones said, via Chad Graff of The Athletic. “I feel like that’s where I’m at. We all feel like that, so we’re all hungry.”

Jones called last year a “learning experience” after always being a part of winning programs since college at Alabama. 

“Really great people are formed through ups and downs,” Jones said. “I’ve always been on really good winning teams, and that’s what this place has been. Just learning from all the things — that’s what I took from last year. It’s a learning experience and I learned a lot.”