AFC Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

• Bengals QB Joe Burrow had a successful appendectomy and HC Zac Taylor noted that while he will be released from the hospital today, the timetable for his return is currently unknown. (Ben Baby)
• Taylor also told reporters he is expecting T La’El Collins to be ready for the regular season. (Geoff Hobson)
• Bengals LB Logan Wilson is being eased into training camp while he is recovering from shoulder surgery: “It’s good. I know they want to be closer to six months and I just hit five months a couple days ago, but we will see how it progresses in these coming weeks and take it one day at a time.” (Paul Dehner Jr.)
• The Bengals announced on Twitter that they have hired Fredi Knighten as an offensive assistant.

Browns

• Browns HC Kevin Stefanski doesn’t have any new info on QB Deshaun Watson but mentioned that both Watson and QB Jacoby Brissett would see plenty of reps during camp. (Nate Ulrich) 
• Stefanski said he expects CB Denzel Ward, RT Jack Conklin, LB Anthony Walker and DT Sheldon Day to be ready for Week 1. All of them are currently on the PUP list. (Scott Petrak)

Ravens

• The reason for Ravens second-round OLB David Ojabo‘s hold out is the amount of guaranteed money in the third year of his deal, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
• The player drafted in his draft slot in 2021 got no third-year guarantee. However, this year the players that were taken before and after Ojabo, Texans WR John Metchie (55.61 percent), and Lions DL Josh Paschal (22.02 percent) both received guarantees. 
• The Ravens tried out WR Bailey Gaither, WR Devin Gray and RB Calvin Turner. They signed Gaither on Wednesday. 

Steelers

Steelers DL Cameron Heyward spoke about comments made by former QB Ben Roethlisberger on his podcast about the younger generation of players, saying: “When it all comes together, we care about one thing, this logo right here.  I’ve always tried to extend that to my younger teammates. I think Ben was a little out on that one.”

“Don’t say Cam is calling out Ben. It’s not like that.” Heyward added, via Brooke Pryor. “But I will say, I’ll protect my team. I will make sure that everybody knows that we only care about football on the field and less about off the field. We can all understand Ben has been a heck of a QB. You don’t do this game and become a Hall of Fame quarterback and do it at a low level. Ben has taken some hits not a lot of other teams could do. He saved us, he won games we weren’t supposed to win, and he’s always stepped up. But it was the team around him that helped him do it, and I don’t want anyone to ever forget that the whole team won, not just Ben.”

• Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is hoping for a new deal from the team and has spoken with teammates LB T.J. Watt, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Heyward about their previous contract negotiations. (Brooke Pryor)
• Fitzpatrick is now on the non-football injury list with a wrist injury after falling off a bike, with HC Mike Tomlin giving no timetable for his return. (Aaron Wilson)
• Tomlin said he isn’t concerned about getting reps for all four quarterbacks in camp: “We’re not going to micromanage the position. It’s not going to depend on every snap and every throw.” (Gerry Dulac)