NFL Notes: Cardinals, Jets, Patriots

Cardinals

Cardinals undrafted rookie CB Sojourn Shelton said he watched the team’s “All or Nothing” series from last year to get caught up on the team after visiting with them during the predraft process.

“I logged into Amazon and watched the whole thing,” Shelton said, via AzCardinals.com. “I just loved the total atmosphere of the team and the work ethic the guys put in, and the coaching staff seemed strong. It was cool. I know Arizona — I’m a big fan of the NFL — but that was a chance to look inside a team in-season. ‘Hard Knocks’ has the preseason but that show was a great chance to show people what the grind was like in-season.”

Shelton was a priority undrafted signing for the Cardinals and while he’s aware that his height could be an issue, he believes he has put himself in the best position to secure a roster spot this summer.

“It wasn’t about the money because, going undrafted, you’re not making a lot of money,” Shelton said. “It was about opportunity and going somewhere that presented itself with a good chance to make the roster. Some teams are better suited in that way than others. This was a place where I felt I had a legit chance. Now it’s in my hands.”

Jets

Jets OLB Lorenzo Mauldin explained that he’s focused on becoming a more physical player after being more of a finesse player in the past.

“I was a finesse player,” Mauldin said recently, via Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “I think I’m going to throw that into the trash can this year. I think I’m going to go with more power this year.”

Jets linebackers coach Kevin Greene explained that while everyone is talented in the NFL, physicality is really what separates players at this level.

“Everybody at this level has skill, correct?” Greene said, per Slater. “They’re all athletic, and agility and dexterity and all that stuff. Well, what separates people initially is their physical level of play. That’s always our first step, is we have to play more physical than whoever is in front of us, because we’re all athletic. . . .  It’s based on physicality. It’s based on drive and desire.”

Patriots

While many feel the Patriots have one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL with Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler, Gilmore mentioned during an appearance on “NFL Total Access” Monday that they’ve still got to prove it.

“We just gotta go out there and prove ourselves every day; get better in practice you know?” Gilmore said, via NFL.com. “Every year it starts over and we gotta be hungry. We gotta go out there and prove to everyone in the league that we can play the game at a high level so I think if we do that, everything else will speak for itself.”