Bills

Bills DC Bobby Babich was pleased with S Taylor Rapp‘s performance last season after appearing in 14 games, recording 82 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two interceptions. 

“I think Taylor Rapp had a very good year, I do,” Babich said, via Maddy Glab of the team’s site. “And I think he tackled really, really well.”

Babich thought fellow S Damar Hamlin had the “best year” of his career in 2024. 

“I thought Damar had his best year that he’s had since he’s been here,” Babich said. “And it was good to see him grow with another year under his belt.”

As for S Cole Bishop, Babich has seen a “jump” with his development after being a second-round pick last year. 

“The jump we’ve seen from Cole from that first year as a rookie to this year has been really good so far,” Babich said. “There’s a lot of room left, but it’s been really good so far.”

Jets

The Jets are shaping up their offensive line with LT Olu Fashanu, LG John Simpson, C Joe Tippmann, RG Alijah Vera-Tucker, and first-round RT Armand Membou. Vera-Tuckr, who is the line’s longest tenured player, believes they have a “great group” and everyone is on the same page.  

“I think this is a great group,” Vera-Tucker said, via Jack Bell of the team’s site. “I think a lot of guys come from backgrounds where you want to come in and work, and everybody in that room has the love for the game, which is really important. The O-line is great, too, and I think we’re all on the same page. You know, we all work well together.”

Vera-Tucker was able to play in 15 games after playing in just five games the previous year. He feels like he’s gained a better understanding of how to take care of his body going into the fifth year of his career. 

“I think it’s just build on that,” Vera-Tucker said. “Build on staying healthy, really taking care of my body so I can be out there. And on top of that, just learning more of the game. I feel like you can never stop learning the game within the game. Becoming more of a leader. Do all those things and everything else.”

Jets OL coach Steve Heiden feels it’s important to build depth along their offensive line, given the frequency of injuries at the position. 

“There’s not many of them. It’s a limited pool of guys that can play in this league and you need five of them. So, I think that’s a concern. And then I think the other thing is the injuries that happen at the position. There’s a lot of injuries. So to have a deep set of guys that can be stable, that can go in and play, it’s tough to do.”

Patriots

Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a live appearance with Adam Schefter and said that while the past couple of years have been the worst under his ownership, he is excited for the upcoming season under HC Mike Vrabel. 

“I can tell you I’m very excited about this upcoming season,” Kraft told Adam Schefter. “The last two years were the worst years of my 31 years of ownership. We have to change that. We have a new coach in Mike Vrabel, who is really connected with the players. He’s doing great work. We have a young quarterback and a lot of great free agent veterans who came in, and a great draft class. We’re gonna have fun this year. I promise.”

“31 years of ownership and I’m very proud. We had never won a home playoff game,” Kraft continued. “We only had one in 34 years. I sat in the stands in 1978, Earl Campbell ran for over 100 yards, and we lost one home playoff game. We’ve owned the team for 31 years. We’ve had 27 home playoff games, and we’re privileged to win 23. I want that record and keep going.”

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