AFC North Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

• The Athletic’s Jay Glazer believes new Browns HC Kevin Stefanski‘s strengths are his willingness to continuously learn and his complete lack of ego. Glazer sees those going over well in the Browns locker room. 
• Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald has the Browns ranked in the first tier in his cap health index for 2021, which measures a team’s estimated cap space, cap flexibility and pending free agents. 
• BrownsZone.com’s Scott Petrak writes it’s fair to question Browns C J.C. Tretter‘s long-term future with Cleveland after the selection of C Nick Harris in the fifth round. 
• Petrak believes 2019 sixth-round G Drew Forbes will beat out Wyatt Teller, who started the final nine games of the season, for the starting spot at right guard. 

Ravens

Ravens C Matt Skura was in the midst of a solid season starting in the middle of Baltimore’s offensive line when a catastrophic knee injury ended his year and threw his future into doubt. Skura tore his ACL, MCL and PCL in his knee and faces a long road back that might not end before the Ravens start the 2020 season. But Skura says he’s grinding away and making progress. 

“I’m feeling good strength-wise, and obviously I’m still building that up. I just have to see how I feel when there’s a moving target, or when there’s another 300-pound dude trying to get to the quarterback or a running back. We’ll see how it feels then,” Skura said via Clifton Brown of the official team website. “But as of right now, things are feeling good. . . . I’d say I’m almost at full speed running. I can’t go from a stop all the way to full speed as quickly as I used to yet, but I’m getting close to that, maybe 80 to 90 percent.”

Steelers

The Steelers were one of the best defenses in the NFL last season and they return most of the players on that side of the ball in 2020. That includes DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, who had to acclimate quickly after being traded to Pittsburgh from Miami. Fitzpatrick says the Steelers should be even better in year 2 together given their familiarity with each other despite the current work restrictions. 

“We have some young faces and new faces, [but] some teams, half their roster, half their secondary or half their linebackers are gone,” Fitzpatrick said via Will Graves of the Associated Press. “[A shortened preseason] will definitely give us an advantage because we all have a year [together] under our belt or more than that. I think it’s more of an advantage.”

• Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald has the Steelers ranked in the bottom tier in his cap health index for 2021, which measures a team’s estimated cap space, cap flexibility and pending free agents.