AFC Notes: Bengals, Browns, Roquan Smith, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals QB Joe Burrow was unwilling to make excuses for their poor offensive performance against the Browns, including blaming it on being without injured WR Ja’Marr Chase.

“Any time that guy goes down, it is going to have an effect, but we are a better offense than what we put out there tonight, even without him,” Burrow said, via NFL.com. “There are no excuses for that.”

“It is tough, whenever one of your friends goes down like that,” Burrow added. “You do not want it to weigh on you. We expect him to be back at some point. When that is, I am not sure. He is going to do what he needs to do to get back on the field.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor reiterated the same sentiment. 

“This isn’t the type of team we are,” Taylor said. “This is a 17-game season and this is one game. We weren’t at our best today at any phase. I’m confident that’s not who we are, but we can make the corrections and flush this one away quickly, turning our attention to Carolina on the six-day week. Have a great opportunity to quickly get this out of our system and play next Sunday.”

Browns

Browns WR Amari Cooper had a big game on Monday night but was critical of his interception, adding that he won’t be throwing more passes anytime soon.

“It was an abomination,” Cooper said, via Scott Petrak of BrownsZone.com. “It just kept running through my mind that if he wasn’t open, I needed to just throw it away. I didn’t realize how hard it was to throw it away. That is what I tried to do. I did not try to throw it at him. I was throwing it back to the line of scrimmage and I looked up and it was in another guy’s hands. It was terrible. It feels like the whole world is watching you when you make a bad play like that. I understand that the game is long and there are ample opportunities to make up for the bad plays that you make…It was bad. Much respect to Jacoby and all the quarterbacks out there because they’ve got a tough position. I’m just going to stick to getting open. That’s it.”

Browns CB Greedy Williams was still visibly ill on the sidelines but returned to play during the second half. He also commented on the chance that he could be traded at the deadline.

“Still dealing with some sickness. Fighting through that,” Williams said. “I had to.”

Ravens

• The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec gives some insight into the Ravens’ trade for LB Roquan Smith, noting the team had a high grade on him as a prospect and has been impressed with the start of his NFL career. 
• Some teams don’t value off-ball linebackers as much but Zrebiec adds the Ravens aren’t one of those teams. They’ve used first-round picks on C.J. Mosley and Patrick Queen and made a hard run at signing LB Bobby Wagner this offseason.
• Per Zrebiec, the Ravens wanted to upgrade their inside linebacker play and their overall defense, and believe Smith will be a big boost in that regard the rest of the season. 
• Down the road, Baltimore will have some tricky negotiations with Smith given they have just one franchise tag and it probably is earmarked for QB Lamar Jackson. Zrebiec says the priority for the Ravens is to extend Smith, and they hope he likes Baltimore enough to maybe take a little less. 
• If not, Zrebiec writes the Ravens will be in line for potentially a third-round compensatory pick if Smith gets the deal he’s looking for in free agency, which would mitigate the risk of the trade somewhat. 
• Smith was owed $5.408 million for the rest of the season. As part of today’s trade agreement between Chicago and Baltimore, the Bears are paying Smith $4.833 million while the Ravens are paying him $575,000 for the rest of the season. (Adam Schefter)
• Ravens GM Eric DeCosta on the trade: “Roquan [Smith] is a player that we have long admired both on and off the field. He fits our culture seamlessly and plays like a Raven at all times. We are confident that Roquan makes our team stronger.” (Jamison Hensley)

Steelers

• CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports the Steelers felt WR Chase Claypool was somewhat of a “distraction” behind the scenes and have had him on the trade block “for at least two weeks” before trading him to the Bears.
• She also said Green Bay seemed to have the top offer on the table for Claypool until the Bears came in with a better offer on Tuesday.