AFC North Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

The Browns became the latest “winners” of the offseason to fall flat once the regular season began in 2019. Despite a number of flashy additions, Cleveland stumbled to a 6-10 record and fired HC Freddie Kitchens after just one season. Browns RB Nick Chubb said one of the team’s problems was believing too much in their own hype. 

“I said it before, I think we thought we were a lot better than we were,” Chubb said on the Jim Rome Show. “We thought it was going to just happen for us, we didn’t actually put the work in. We got this guy, and this guy, you know we’re straight, so we don’t need to actually work, it’s going to happen for us. . . . Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work. I think that’s exactly what it was with us. We had all the talent in the world, but didn’t put the work into it.”

• Football Outsiders via ESPN lists cornerback as the biggest hole left on the Browns’ roster, as there’s no guarantee they have two more starters to line up with Denzel Ward out of the trio of Greedy Williams, Terrance Mitchell and Kevin Johnson.

Ravens

• According to the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens are looking into the recent incident involving S Earl Thomas and his wife, Nina, to determine whether Thomas’ conduct violated his contract.
• The report mentions that a team official said there were times last season when Ravens coaches thought Thomas “strayed from their team concept” and struggled to grasp the team’s defensive scheme in the secondary at times, which put him at odds with teammates.
• Joel Corry explains, however, that the actual language in Thomas’ contract does not include anything about engaging in conduct that adversely reflects on the team, which would have allowed the Ravens to void his deal. 

• Football Outsiders via ESPN lists interior offensive line as the biggest hole left on the Ravens’ roster, as they’ll be relying on a combination of players to replace potential Hall-of-Fame G Marshal Yanda and injured C Matt Skura. 

Steelers

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said he’s “extremely confident” QB Ben Roethlisberger will be ready to go as he returns from surgery to his throwing arm. 

“As we sit here today, we are extremely confident in his readiness,” Tomlin said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We are enjoying the process that he’s going through right now. Obviously, it’s not without its angst. The guy is coming off a season-ending injury and surgery. But we like where we are. He’s throwing on a rehab schedule, and it’s going well, and we fully anticipate him being ready to go for that opener.”