AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

• According to Geoff Hobson of the official team website, the Bengals tried to trade up in the second round for one of the falling offensive tackles, including Jawaan Taylor, Greg Little and Cody Ford even though they already draft Jonah Williams in the first round. 
• Ultimately though, Hobson says the Bengals didn’t want to part with their mid-round picks, and instead traded down with the Broncos to add another fourth-round pick. 

Browns

Browns HC Freddie Kitchens told reporters that RB Duke Johnson’s trade request “doesn’t matter to me.”

“At this point in time, him asking for a trade doesn’t matter to me,” Kitchens said, via ESPN. “He’s a Cleveland Brown. Duke’s the type of the guy who’s going to show up and he’s going to do his job and he’s going do his job well. That’s all I can ask for as a coach. His demands, I’m not impacted by that one bit.”

Kitchens added that he expects Johnson to be on the roster in 2019.

“Duke’s under contract,” Kitchens said. “I’ve said this for a month now, I don’t know where all this trade talk started happening. People just assumed we would trade him because we signed another good football player [Kareem Hunt]. I like good football players, and I like as many as I can get. It’s our job to get him the ball and enable him in whatever role that is. Duke Johnson is on this football team and will have a vital role on this team and will help us win football games. Am I surprised he’s still here? No, not one bit. I have never said anything different than that.”

• Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Browns WR Jarvis Landry was also among the players absent for the start of voluntary workouts this past week. 

Ravens

The Ravens are hoping QB Trace McSorley can fill a similar role for them that QB Taysom Hill does for the Saints. 

“You saw what the Saints have done down there with their third quarterback,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “That’s something we’ll have a chance to do, too, with Trace. He’s going to be able to play special teams as well. The more you can do. You want players with roles, and he’s a guy that has a chance to have a big role for us.”

McSorley said most of his conversations with the Ravens centered around what he could do at quarterback, but he’s open to doing whatever he needs to do to help the team. 

“My main thing is I feel I can be a quarterback, and that’s my goal coming in is to compete and play the quarterback position,” McSorley said. “But I also know I can do some other things given the opportunity. I’m ready to go in and do anything the coaches ask me to do. I know I can do a lot of different things on the football field to make a team successful.”

• Ravens WR Marquise Brown said he doesn’t have an exact timetable for his return from a Lisfranc injury, but plans to be ready for training camp. (Jeff Zrebiec)