As the Bills finish up their rout of the Jets in an impromptu Monday Night Football contest, let’s take a look at some assorted notes from the AFC…
- The Broncos scoring 39 points on Sunday without the services of Julius Thomas doesn’t help the tight end’s contract leverage, opines Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Without Orange Julius, Manning looked to Demaryius Thomas – also a pending free agent – in the red zone.
- Following the news that the Broncos auditioned a pair of kickers, John Fox clarified that it was business as usual (via ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold). “…We have tryouts every week, at a lot of different positions,” said Fox. “As far as my satisfaction with Brandon McManus, is kind of like our record, we’re 8-3, wish we were 11-0. But we are kind of where we are and we’re always looking to improve our team if we feel need be.” If the team ultimately decides to add a kicker, Legwold believe it would be wise for the Broncos to keep McManus as a kickoff specialist.
- Ryan Mallett‘s season-ending injury means that he won’t hit the playing time triggers that would have increased the Patriots‘ draft pick compensation for him, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. New England will now receive Houston’s seventh-round choice for the quarterback.
- Mallett’s season may be over, but that doesn’t mean his tenure with the Texans is finished. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the team wants the young quarterback to return next season, adding that the Texans will likely add a young player for competition.
Zach Links contributed to this post.