AFC Notes: Arthur Smith, Deshaun Watson, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals K Evan McPherson spoke to the media about his feelings regarding the league’s new kickoff rules.

“It’s definitely interesting. It brings a lot of placement into play. It’s all touch. It feels weird for me,” McPherson said, via the team website. “I’m used to kicking it as high as I can, as hard as I can. Now I have to throw it inside to the 5-yard line in specific areas. It’s definitely an adjustment. You have to play the wind a lot more now.”

Browns

Browns QB Deshaun Watson spoke to reporters about how far he has come from last season’s injury after 7-on-7 drills with the team.

“I’m in a very comfortable spot,” Watson said, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s truly a blessing. I came a long way from something that was a big scare last year.”

Steelers

Steelers OC Arthur Smith refused to answer whether or not the team needed a “No. 2 receiver.”

“Every year it changes,” Smith said, via Steelers Wire. “If you’re talking historical, if you’re just playing static and not moving and you were spread out and you had wide receiver one, wide receiver two, wide receiver three… Things change year-to-year. You see it every year in this league — guys that may be fifth-round picks end up being the Rookie of the Year. Guys can get another opportunity, they step up. It’s constantly changing, and then, unfortunately, guys get injured. You have to have depth, so you’re working all those contingency plans all up and down the offense… you got to have guys that have some position flexibility. So, there’s all these contingency plans as we’re building this offense, as we’re working in terms of the OTA and minicamp portion.”