Bills
Bills LB Shaq Thompson was asked about moving on from Carolina and joining Buffalo, which is a well-treaded path given that many other players have joined the Bills after moving on from the Panthers.
“Man… got released from Carolina—that’s the first step,” Thompson joked. “But just stayed in connection with [Sean] McDermott, with [Brandon] Beane, with Al Holcomb. Just staying in connection with them, updating them just on surgeries and rehabs and where I’m at and stuff like that. I’ve been there with them in 2015, in Carolina. So kinda just always had that bond there.”
Thompson was asked about a joke amongst players that Buffalo was referred to as “Carolina North”
“Yeah, for sure,” Thompson replied. “And there’s other multiple teams that also kinda allude to that as well. But there’s a lot of guys that came from Carolina, played here and they loved it. Or vice versa—guys from up there come down here and we talk about whatever. Because when people come from a different team, you wanna know how the organization is, what runs different, how do you guys win the games, what’s the team environment, what’s the team chemistry.”
Dolphins
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa missed a career-high six games in 2024 due to hip and head injuries. Tagovaioa emphasized his increased attention to self-protection this year but admitted how difficult it is to have that mindset in the heat of a play.
“Doing everything I can to stay available for the guys. Like I said before in the past, nothing changes with that. It’s knowing when is the time to give up on a play,” Tagovailoa said, via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “And I would say the longevity for me to be on the field with my guys is more important than whatever that one play is. You have more quarters than there would be within just that one play that I’m trying to show the guys that I’m competitive and whatnot, and I know they know that, but it’s just a nature, it’s a nature thing. It just comes natural to me to compete in that sense. And that’s just the thing I fight with every time.”
Tagovailoa believes a change in his approach to practice can help him protect himself better in game situations.
“I think that’s why you have practice — and it starts in practice. I’ve got to sort of shift my mindset. … This isn’t just practice where guys can’t hit me. You got to take it into a sense where if this guy’s here, get the ball out and if I’m scrambling and this guy’s getting close, not to just hold on to it knowing they can hit me if it was real football.”
Patriots
Patriots first-round LT Will Campbell said that the team’s pass rushers have helped him refine his technique as he enters his first season in the NFL.
“It’s been great. Not only Keion but KC, Harold, Milton, Christian – those are all guys who have played a lot of ball in the NFL,” Campbell said, via Mass Live. “So, for me to be able to get that exposure in OTAs, it’s pretty good. They’ve been great teammates – showing me some stuff of what they’re looking for and things like that. It’s been pretty cool.”
Campbell has also leaned on the veterans along the offensive line for pointers in how to improve his game.
“Whenever you’re a rookie at any position, you look for a guy that you can come in and has done it the right way since he’s been in the league, proven himself, and is a great person that you can latch onto. He’s just been great to me,” Campbell said. “Not only me but all the guys in the room. That goes for guys like Garrett and Big Mike (Onwenu), too. We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football in our room. They’ve been very good to the young guys – even the guys who are in their second year – helping any way that they can.”
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