AFC Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

• Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic believes it’s time for the Bengals to say goodbye to two former first-round receivers in A.J. Green and John Ross. 
• Dehner Jr. views TE C.J. Uzomah as a future core piece in Cincinnati but thinks the team should move on from several of their offensive linemen including Billy Price, Michael Jordan, Keaton Sutherland, Fred Johnson, Isaiah Prince, and Alex Redmond. 
• The Bengals have two big ways to increase their cap by parting ways with linemen T Bobby Hart and G B.J. Finney. Letting go of Hart will net the team $6 million, while the team can decline the $3.5 million team option of Finney.
• Dehner Jr. points out that by moving on from Finney, the team will have essentially received nothing in the trade that sent DE Carlos Dunlap to the Seahawks. 
• Dehner Jr. thinks the team should move on from DT Geno Atkins and save around $9.6 million, which he says takes nothing away from a Hall of Fame career with the Bengals.
• Big decisions will have to be made on both CB William Jackson and DE Carl Lawson, as it is unclear whether each player would decide to continue their career with the Bengals.
• Dehner Jr adds that the Bengals don’t appear to have much interest in bringing back CB Mackensie Alexander in 2021. 

Browns

Browns OL Wyatt Teller said he would like to remain in Cleveland for the foreseeable future.  

“It is always a good thing to have your name around the building to be spoken about and stuff like that,” Teller said, via Scott Petrak of BrownsZone. “All I can do is my job. I know that sounds cliché, but I can’t really make those decisions. I want to be here and I want to do all those things.”

Teller said he will not pressure GM Andrew Berry into giving him a contract extension and will let him focus on the offseason. 

“I think that AB is going to be doing big things, and I think that he is a very smart guy. Right now, I think he is worried about the combine and all of this different stuff so I am going to let him focus on that. I look forward to all of that stuff and looking into next year. It is going to be a good time.”

Teller said he is focused on “getting healthy again” over the offseason, in addition to working on his “fundamentals“ as well. 

“This offseason is big on getting healthy again. I think that pass pro for me at the beginning of the season was off the charts and then it is a little nick here and a little bang there and trying to get back and get back to that fundamentals and foot fire, fast feet and all of these different things that it takes to perform at this level against these pass rushers.”

Ravens

• Ravens salary cap analyst Brian McFarland estimates the Ravens will have about $10 million of salary cap space to work with before making other moves to clear space and including exclusive and restricted free agent signings. 
• Players who could be brought back in the latter category include RB Gus Edwards as a second-round tender, and ERFA’s C Trystan Colon-Castillo, CB Khalil Dorsey, P Johnny Townsend, LB Kristian Welch and WR Antoine Wesley. 
• McFarland points out Ravens OT Orlando Brown, TE Mark Andrews and G Bradley Bozeman will have their base salaries increase due to the proven performance escalator. Andrews and Brown will make $3.384 million base salaries in 2021, while Bozeman will get $2.183 million. 
• McFarland highlights DT Brandon Williams, CB Marcus Peters and TE Nick Boyle as some of the players whose contracts the Ravens could look to as they try to create cap space. Extensions, trades, releases and pay cuts are the options on the table. 
• Over The Cap’s Nick Korte released updated compensatory pick projections. Typically Korte’s projections are the most accurate available, but he acknowledges this year will be potentially less accurate because of changes to the league’s confidential formula stemming from the new CBA and the pandemic. 
• Nevertheless, Korte projects the Ravens to receive a fifth-round pick for the loss of DT Michael Pierce.
• According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Ravens will roll over approximately $586,822 in cap space to 2021, with the final amount pending an audit by the NFL.