AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

• The NFL officially lifted Bengals OL Alex Redmond’s suspension on Tuesday. 
• Cincinnati received a two-week roster exemption to add Redmond to their active roster. 

Browns

• With injuries to Browns WRs Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins, WR Antonio Callaway could be counted on as Cleveland’s No. 2 wideout fresh off a four-game suspension per HC Freddie Kitchens: “I’m assuming he’s been doing his part in getting in shape and getting ready to go. So I expect nothing else out of Antonio and I look forward to getting him back.” (Mary Kay Cabot)
• Kitchens classified Higgins and Browns CBs Denzel Ward and second-round rookie Greedy Williams as day-to-day with injuries. (Scott Petrak)
• The Browns worked out OT Cody Conway and G Daniel Munyer. (Aaron Wilson)

Ravens

No play quite symbolized the way the Browns broke the back of the once-vaunted Ravens defense in Sunday’s 40-25 win quite like Browns RB Nick Chubb‘s 88-yard touchdown run. After the game, Ravens S Earl Thomas said he stopped chasing Chubb after feeling his hamstring tighten up. While that goes against the effort most coaches preach, Ravens HC John Harbaugh was willing to make an exception. 

“If that’s what he said about his hamstrings — he was a good bit behind Chubb in that situation, as I watched the tape — he wasn’t going to catch him,” Harbaugh said via Jonas Schaffer of the Baltimore Sun. “Yeah, we want everybody to finish, but if he felt some tightness in his hamstrings right there, I’m glad he’s out of the game healthy, in all honesty. I want everybody running to the ball as much as they can, but . . . I certainly don’t want a hamstring pull from my starting safety right there, so I take him at his word. You know why I say that: Because I watched the game and saw how hard he played. The guy was all over the field. He made a bunch of hits. I respect that.”

Steelers

• Desperate for playmakers, the Steelers turned to backup RB Jaylen Samuels for a spark in Monday night’s win against the Bengals. (Pro Football Talk)
• Samuels, a tight end/wide receiver in college at North Carolina State, took seven snaps out of the Wildcat formation, completed three passes for 31 yards and added 26 rushing yards and 57 receiving yards.
• Per HC Mike Tomlin, it was “somewhat gimmicky” but the Steelers “did what we had to do to win the game.”
• Tomlin added Steelers RB James Conner and DL Cameron Heyward both returned to the game after leaving with injuries Monday night, but would likely be limited this week in practice. (Bob Labriola)
• While Steelers WR Donte Moncrief is benched for now, Tomlin told reporters the veteran should be ready for his next chance whenever it comes: “I like his attitude and work. You don’t have to be in this a long time to realize the boomerang comes back around. He needs to be ready for it when it does.” (Joe Rutter)