AFC Notes: Bengals, Baker Mayfield, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals WR Tee Higgins said that he plans to be fully recovered from his shoulder injury in time for training camp and is determined to make a Super Bowl reappearance. 

“That’s the plan,” Higgins said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s official website. “Hell of a game, but it wasn’t the outcome me and my teammates expected. It’s going to motivate all of us, but we know what it takes to get back to the Super Bowl. That’s what we look forward to doing next season.”

Bengals WRs coach Troy Walters praised Higgins for his 75-yard touchdown reception in the Super Bowl when lined up against Jalen Ramsey and feels the receiver has improved at attacking the high point. 

“He got better in year one to year two when the ball was in the air,” Walters said. “He was going up and attacking the ball and not getting pushed off his spot. Attack it like a rebound. All season he did that making explosive plays. He went over one of the top corners in the league and probably got away with something there, but it’s a physical game and he made a play.”

Browns

Browns QB Baker Mayfield said that he isn’t going to force a relationship in the next locker room that he’s a part of. Mayfield feels that authenticity is key and that his teammates would be able to distinguish real emotions from what’s fake.

“I’m not going to force it. I’m going to be myself,” Mayfield said, via PFT. “Because I feel like I tried to force it when things on the field weren’t going well, like in the past couple of years. I feel like I’m going to go in there and be myself, because that’s worked for me in the past. I’m going to go in with the same work ethic and mentality. And if they don’t like me, that’s fine. But when I step on the field and I play as confident as I am and what I think I’m going to do on the field the next time I get a chance to do it, I’ll earn the respect of the guys who didn’t appreciate it from the beginning. And if I’m worried about getting them to like me, what am I doing? They don’t care if I like them either. They want their quarterback to win. They’re trying to get a paycheck. If their team wins, they get paid. So the guys who don’t really personally like me, that’s fine. But I have to have their respect. And the way I do that is just working my ass off, being myself. Because you can get sniffed out in a f—ing heartbeat if you’re fake. They’ll sniff that out quick.”

Mayfield has noticed the transition between college and the professional level, most notably, finding a way to motivate the guys around him who are at different stages in their careers.

“It’s like, how can I get the best out of people that are making a s—t-ton of money?” Mayfield said. “Because I could always motivate people when we weren’t making money. That was easy. I could get in their face, I could do all that because, you know what, we were on the same playing field. You get a pension after four years, you get benefits and all that. So how do you motivate people who are at that point that have already reached it? That’s the biggest battle for me right now. I can motivate myself. I know how to do that. I haven’t done it, always, correctly. But I know how to do it. How can I get it out of everybody else? Because that’s a leadership perspective of being a quarterback. I have to get everybody else around me to be better than they really think they are.”

Steelers

According to Jason La Canfora, the Steelers and Saints are heavy in the QB market. In fact, an NFL evaluator explained that the Steelers’ actions throughout the draft process make it clear they’re serious about getting a quarterback this year.

“I’ve seen the Steelers contingent at these pro days,” the evaluator said. “This isn’t some bluff. That’s not how Kevin (GM Kevin Colbert) operates. I know they like some of these kids. I don’t think they jump all the way up for Willis, but they’re up to something.”

• La Canfora mentions Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder as a name to watch for the Steelers.