Bengals 

Bengals OT Amarius Mims has excelled in his second season despite Cincinnati’s struggles to pull results together. Bengals OC Dan Pitcher believes in Mims’ potential and thinks he is taking steps toward becoming “the best in the world.” 

“He could be the best in the world at what he does, he really could,” Pitcher said, via Paul Dehner Jr. The Athletic. “He’s making steps to move in that direction.”

Pitcher reiterated that he’s noticed Mims’ development this season. 

“I have seen it, very pleased by it,” Pitcher said. “Makes me even more bullish on his future in this league and the kind of player I think he can be for a very long time.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor pointed out that Mims’ football IQ and ability to anticipate have grown in 2025. 

“Not to dismiss his football IQ going into the season, but I think that’s really grown, knowing what to anticipate,” Taylor said. “Moves from players, how to come off in the run game. I just think he’s starting to take that next step of being able to anticipate before it actually happens.”

• Per Paul Dehner Jr., CB Cam Taylor-Britt said he has three or four months of recovery but is curious about his upcoming free agency process.
• Bengals QB Joe Flacco isn’t considering retirement but does hope to be “selective” in what team he plays for next, adding that he is open to a return to the team as Joe Burrow‘s backup.
• Veteran G Dalton Risner also mentioned that he would like to stay in Cincinnati.

Colts

Colts CB Charvarius Ward missed time with three separate concussions this year, and they weren’t the first of his career by a long shot. Ward said this week the symptoms have been hard to shake, and it has him seriously contemplating retirement rather than subjecting his brain to further damage. 

“With the brain injuries, you don’t really see it … until you get older sometimes,” Ward said via ESPN’s Stephen Holder. “I’m still a pretty young guy, and the more I beat my brain up, the more it’ll affect me as I get older. So, I’ve got a lot of life to live outside of football. I’ve got to think about my family and kids, too. So, we’ll see.”

Ward is 29 years old and has a big payday coming in 2026 as the second year of a three-year, $54 million contract with the Colts kicks in. But he shared that he bumped his head by accident recently, and it rekindled a wave of headaches and concussion symptoms. Ward also has a child and lost another at just one year old in a tragedy last year, so family considerations are huge for him. He says his father has already told him he should retire. 

“If I walk away, I feel like I’d be happy,” he said. “I’d have won the Super Bowl [with Kansas City] … made hella money, made the Pro Bowl, made All-Pro. I did everything I wanted to. So, I feel like if I walk away, I won’t regret it. I’m good.”

• Colts QB Philip Rivers on potentially coaching in the NFL: “There’s nothing concrete with that. … This past month has taught me, you’re open to obviously anything, I guess. It’s nothing that I would shut down before it even became a possibility.” (Boyd)
• Colts WR Alec Pierce said that the potential return of QB Daniel Jones would influence his own return next season. (Erickson)
• Colts owner/CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon to the team’s fans: “You are right to be frustrated by our season. We’re pissed. I’m pissed…We have been very clear… Giving them another year means that the sense of urgency has never been higher.”(Holder)

Titans

• Titans interim HC Mike McCoy told reporters that more tests will be done to determine the extent of QB Cam Ward’s shoulder injury. (McCormick)
• Titans pass rusher Arden Key said he anticipates that the team will want him back next season. (Kuharsky)