AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

• Per ESPN’s Ben Baby, Bengals WR Auden Tate has a sprained MCL in his left knee. 
• Bengals HC Zac Taylor said WR A.J. Green is still “day-to-day.” (Tyler Dragon)
• Taylor didn’t want to go out on a limb and make any determinations about Green’s availability this week. (Baby)

Browns

Some of the smoke surrounding Browns WR Odell Beckham and his relationship with Cleveland burst into a full-fledged fire with a report from Jay Glazer that Beckham went as far as to tell opposing coaches and players to “come get me” this offseason. However, Browns HC Freddie Kitchens said he hasn’t gotten the sense from Beckham that their relationship is already fractured after less than a season. 

“Until I hear something from Odell, I’m not going to comment,” Kitchens said via Keith Britton of 92.3 The Fan. “Odell and I’s relationship is fine. I’m sorry I don’t think there’s any ‘gotcha moment’ here. What I’ve seen from Odell is nothing like the reports indicate.”

• Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson points out that Beckham has an enormous amount of respect for 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan and is friends with QB Jimmy Garoppolo. San Francisco was the other team negotiating with the Giants for Beckham before he was traded to the Browns. 
• Robinson also adds a source confirmed Glazer’s report and added that it happened during October, when Cleveland played the Patriots, 49ers and Seahawks.
• Robinson points out Beckham still feels like he hasn’t found his fit in Cleveland after being traded from New York and is worried about his career, per another source: “He’s lost. … Fame got to him, he made bad choices [and] now he has to redeem himself. And the road to redemption isn’t an easy one when you have an ego.”
• Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal, Kitchens says the team hasn’t discussed placing Beckham on injured reserve with his sports hernia injury because they still feel like he can help the team. 
• Kitchens told reporters he had discussed Browns QB Baker Mayfield‘s comments about the team training staff and how they handled Beckham’s injury, telling him they didn’t want him commenting on other player’s injuries. (Scott Petrak)
• Kitchens added the training staff and Beckham have done a good job of managing his injury this season. (Petrak)
• While the team opened discussions with Browns LB Joe Schobert about a contract extension, he says he has not yet received an offer from the team: “In my perfect world, yeah, I’d be in Cleveland.” (Mary Kay Cabot)
• The Browns worked out WR DaMarkus Lodge. (Aaron Wilson)

Ravens

• According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Ravens TE Mark Andrews‘ knee injury is considered minor and he should be okay going forward. 
• Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley is in the concussion protocol, which makes his availability for Thursday night’s game against the Jets doubtful. (Mike Garafolo)
• The Ravens worked out P Ryan Anderson on Friday. (Howard Balzer)

Steelers

Steelers rookie QB Devlin Hodges has stepped in and helped the team secure back-to-back wins the past two weeks. Mike Tomlin says he trusts Hodges’ judgment and is getting “more and more comfortable” with the rookie signal caller. 

“I trust his judgement,” Tomlin said, via ESPN.com. “That’s been a part of his game. He did a really good job of managing his emotions in the midst of tough circumstances and being prudent, yet aggressive. We’re getting more and more comfortable.”

• Adam Schefter reports that Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, who has missed the past three games with a knee injury, is eyeing a Week 15 return.