AFC Notes: Josh Allen, Christian Gonzalez, Bills, Jets, Patriots

AFC Notes: Josh Allen, Christian Gonzalez, Bills, Jets, Patriots
NFL Trade Rumors NFL Trade Rumors

Bills

Bills HC Sean McDermott said the offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting QB Josh Allen if they want to have him healthy for the playoffs.

“They had 12 hits on Josh, eight sacks. That’s not a healthy formula right there,” McDermott said, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s not a healthy way to play or a healthy way to keep our quarterback healthy through the remainder of the season. That’s where the hits come, second down and long turns into third down and long, and that’s the unhealthy formula I’m talking about, and Josh takes too many hits. So we’ve got to figure that piece out.”

  • Bills LB Joey Bosa was fined $17,389 for a hit on a quarterback (contact to the knee area or below of a passer), and RB Ty Johnson was fined $10,777 for unsportsmanlike conduct (obscene gestures).

Jets

New Jets WR John Metchie has a chance to get his career off the ground after a few years in Houston, where things never really got going. The Texans drafted Metchie in the second round of the 2022 draft, but he didn’t play at all his rookie year as he battled leukemia. He discussed what that experience was like emotionally and how it taught him to become even more resilient.

“Your loved ones is definitely the biggest thing. But then, kind of who you are as a person, you know?” he said via Steve Serby of the NY Post. “Kind of just like sports, you don’t step up to the moments, you fall back on your preparation and training. So for me, when that happened, it’s just falling back on who you are as a person, and that’s about getting better like 1 percent each day. Had a saying back then which was, just one break at a time. So it’s just like it’s a test to the strength people have within them.”

The Texans traded Metchie to the Eagles during the preseason this year, and then the Eagles dealt him to the Jets before the trade deadline. He seemed like he took it in stride both times.

“I don’t know, that is a question for whoever makes those decisions. But [Philadelphia] was a good experience. A lot of old teammates and stuff there. But it was a good experience,” he said. “I really just focus on the things that I can control. I think that question is best suited for the people that actually make those decisions.”

As for what he hopes to bring to the Jets this year in the final year of his rookie contract, Metchie said he just loves to play football and that’s what the team will get.

“The dawg, you know?” he said. *“Somebody that loves to win. Not just the winning but the process of it. Not just Sundays and Thursdays or Mondays, but what you do every other day and in the offseason is what ultimately leads to that, and not get so...