Bengals
Bengals QB Joe Burrow said he’s excited about the progress of first-round WR Ja’Marr Chase and thinks the receiver is already showing a good understanding of their system.
“I’m excited about where he’s at,” Burrow said, via the team’s official Youtube. “He’s a really smart player that understands what we’re trying to do in the offense. I’m not going to have to tell him what to do every single play. He knows exactly what’s expected of him.”
Burrow has expressed confidence in Chase to his teammates and thinks the rookie is proving himself at practice.
“I told everyone coming in that he’s not going to bust — he’s going to know exactly what to do, he’s going to be a pro. And that’s exactly what’s happened,” Burrow said. “And then he’s just super smooth on the field. He doesn’t look like he’s going super hard, and guys are coming up to me it’s like, ‘Is he going hard?’ And then we go up against a defense, and you can see he looks exactly the same, but he’s going. … He’s just at a different speed than everybody else. So It’s exciting to have him. He’s going to be great for us, and he’s a great friend as well.”
Browns
Browns’ DE Jadeveon Clowney says that he hasn’t encountered many players like DE Myles Garrett so far in his NFL career.
“It’s funny,” Clowney said, via Tom Withers of the Associated Press. “I haven’t run into many guys like that in the National Football League yet. It took me eight years to get here to find another one like that, on defense, anyways.”
Clowney says that he wants to have fun this season, reminding the media that the players truly do have the best job in the world.
“The thing about me, man, I like to have fun no matter what team I go to or where I go,” Clowney said. “I’m an excited guy. I know it’s a job, but I try to say it’s football first. I always enjoy playing football. It’s not really a job. We’ve got the best job in the world. Why not put a smile on your face when you’re out there running around and they pay you for this and I would play for free?”
Steelers
Steelers RBs coach Eddie Faulkner praised first-round RB Najee Harris‘s hard work ethic in the offseason program and has encouraged him to take some time off of football.
“I’m for all the hard work and the extra — I’m all here for that, I love it — but he also has to learn how to give himself breaks, too,” said Faulkner, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He works his butt off, and sometimes it’s a reward, like, ‘Hey man, go home. Relax. Go watch TV. Do something different than football.’”
Faulkner also spoke of second-year RB Anthony McFarland‘s progress this offseason.
“I’ll tell you what, there’s a lot of talk about Najee and his work ethic, but Anthony McFarland’s doing the same thing,” Faulkner said. “He’s learning how to be a professional. He’s spending time learning not just what something is but why we’re doing it. That is how you get him to play faster, so he can slow the game down mentally and kind of see things before they happen or anticipate things before they happen, and he can react full-speed. The mental part of it’s where we really got to chip away at it with him.”
Steelers TE Eric Ebron had high praise of second-round TE Pat Freiermuth, calling him a “smooth playmaker” in practice.
“Pat’s going to be good, man. Pat’s going to be pretty good,” Ebron said. “I’m excited to see him grow as a tight end. … To me, he’s just a smooth playmaker. He’s silky smooth. He doesn’t look like he’s trying too hard, and he’s capable of a lot.”
Steelers’ HC Mike Tomlin also keyed on Freiermuth’s performance this offseason.
“I just see Pat out there working his tail off and making plays and having a good offseason, and I’m excited about that,” said Tomlin.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
