AFC Notes: Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals’ rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase said he’s taking his time to learn HC Zac Taylor‘s system and feels that he did poorly in the first couple of days at training camp. 

“I’ve got to take it slow,” said Chase, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s official site. “I realized this offense is very detailed. I had to take my time. The first couple of days I wasn’t doing so well. Of course. (He was frustrated.) I kept pushing forward. Me sitting out that year, I’m not going to be so fast getting back to my normal self. It’s all mental. It’s all mental right now.”

Chase said that Joe Burrow assured him to relax and stay patient with his development after dropping a few passes early on in training camp. 

“I talked to them about how I feel right now,” Chase said. “It was plays I knew I could make. I had some drops on them. Thad just told me to relax. ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ That’s exactly what he told me. ‘Keep a level head.’ (Burrow) was saying how we both were out for a year and we have to come back completely different, stronger, faster. The main thing is about being on the same time and getting our stuff together.”

Chase mentioned that Browns WRs coach Troy Walters has been working with him on releasing off the line of scrimmage and burst through routes. 

“That’s what he’s been working with me on the most, getting off the ball,” Chase said. “He wants me to come off the ball a little differently this year. Just come off with a better burst of five yards so I can get into my route faster. It’s something new. I’m willing to learn. We’ll see how it works.”

Browns

Browns G Wyatt Teller said he isn’t worried about a potential extension to remain in Cleveland beyond the 2021 season. 

“I love Cleveland. I love the fans, I love the city,” Teller said, via Pro Football Talk. “I know as much as you guys know. [The Browns] work with my agent and everything like that. He kind of leaves me out of it because it’s like, hey look — obviously once stuff happens, it’s happening fast. Right now, the best thing I can do is focus on football. The better I do, the better the guys around me do, the better they do, the better the team does. And the better the team does, we all get paid.”

Steelers

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said he has tried to eat healthier this offseason, but not to the degree that has been portrayed by some reports.

“So much was made a week or two [ago],” Roethlisberger said, via the Washington Post. “I mean, listen, as you get older — for the last four or five years, I’ve really focused on having a trainer, my body. Part of it’s football. But part of it’s life. I’m not getting any younger. I’m almost 40 years old. So you’ve got to take care of yourself. And nothing against Tom [Brady], but I’m not eating avocado ice cream. Yeah, you have a chef and you try and eat healthy. But you’re eating healthy because you want to be and feel good.”

• Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said QB Mason Rudolph will start this week’s preseason game, while QB Dwayne Haskins and QB Josh Dobbs will follow. (Brooke Pryor)
• Tomlin added he isn’t stressing over DE T.J. Watt sitting out while he negotiates an extension: “That negotiation process is going to run its course. Some run their courses faster than others. If I remember correctly, Cam Heyward had less than 100 percent participation when he was in a similar circumstance a short time ago.” (Mark Kaboly)