AFC Notes: Bengals, Joe Burrow, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals QB Joe Burrow confirmed his contract extension is “in the works” but wants to keep details of their negotiations private. 

“I’m involved,” Burrow said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “That’s in the works. That’s not really something that I like to play out in the media. That’s something, just the way I think they want to do business, I want to do business. We prefer to keep that between us.”

Burrow said he’s been clear about his contract demands. 

“I’m pretty clear on what I want in the contract and what I think is best for myself and the team,” Burrow said. “So we are on the road to making that happen.”

Burrow added he doesn’t want his contract to hamstring the team from making additional signings. 

“Yeah, it’s definitely whenever you have guys on the team that need to be paid, that’s always on your mind,” Burrow said. “You want that to be a focal point and so we’re working to make that happen… You’ve got to have good players. It doesn’t matter how good your quarterback is. If you don’t have good players around him you are not going to have a very good team.”

Ravens

• Ravens RB coach Willie Taggart was selected to participate in this week’s Coach Accelerator program at the May NFL owners meetings. The program is intended to increase exposure between owners and executives and diverse coaching talent with the goal of increasing the number of minority head coaching hires. 

Steelers

Eagles veteran C Jason Kelce called G Isaac Seumalo, who signed with the Steelers this offseason, one of the best guards in the league and will be difficult to replace. 

“I think he’s one of the best guards in the NFL, and I think he has been,” Kelce said, via NFL.com. “I think he’s one of the most consistent players I’ve ever been around, one of the most consistent people I’ve ever been around. So we’re not going to replace Isaac, there’s going to be someone new in there, and they’re going to have their attributes that they’re going to excel with, and I’m looking forward to seeing who does a really good job with that.”

Kelce thinks Seumalo was never fully appreciated for what he contributed to the team. 

“Isaac is a really, really special player,” Kelce said. “I know we’ve said that here for a long time, and I still don’t think people really truly grasp what he did for our room. And me personally, I think he’s probably the smartest player I’ve ever been around. Really, really gifted physically, mentally, across the board. So I think the Steelers are getting a steal, that’s a good pun, I guess.”