AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

• Bengals WR A.J. Green said he hasn’t experienced any swelling in his ankle recently and “everything’s trending up.” (Ben Baby)
• Green did, however, say he still doesn’t know if he will play this season: “When my ankle feels good enough to play, then I’ll play.”
• According to The Athletic’s Jay Morrison, the Bengals benched Billy Price for fourth-round rookie Michael Jordan again at left guard. 

Browns

Browns LB Joe Schobert has been on a tear recently and is drawing some attention after flying under the radar for most of the season. Schobert has stuffed the stat sheet in the past two games, totaling 14 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, eight pass defenses and four interceptions. 

“Joe is playing at a high level,” Browns DC Steve Wilks said via NFL Media. “Probably one of the best linebackers in the league right now in how he is performing. He is a leader for us. He commands the defense out there, getting everybody aligned and things that we ask of him. I am excited about his performance thus far this year, and hopefully, he can keep it going.”

• ESPN’s Josina Anderson says her understanding of why Browns S Damarious Randall was declared inactive for Sunday’s game against the Steelers is that it’s an “internal situation.”
• Browns HC Freddie Kitchens says his decision to wear a t-shirt that said “Pittsburgh started it” had nothing to do with the team’s loss to the Steelers: “I wore a T-shirt. I wore a jacket with it. My daughters wanted me to wear the shirt. And I’d wear it again. I put a jacket on, I covered it up. I took a picture with a fan. That was as simple as that. T-shirt didn’t cause us to give up 40 yard passes, and we were ready to play. That’s the only thing people need to be concerned about. We were ready to play.”
• Kitchens said QB Baker Mayfield underwent X-rays on his throwing hand for a contusion, but should be fine.

Steelers

• According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, the move to make Steelers undrafted rookie QB Devlin Hodges the starter was well-received throughout the organization. 
• Some within the organization were surprised Steelers HC Mike Tomlin didn’t stick with Hodges longer after he won his only start in relief of Rudolph earlier this season.