AFC Notes: Bengals, Lamar Jackson, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals QB Joe Burrow revealed after the team’s win over the Ravens on Sunday night that he hopes to remain with the team for his entire career.

“My plan is to be here my whole career, and hopefully Zac is here my whole career,” Burrow said following the game, via ESPN. “I have a lot of confidence in the front office doing their jobs in the offseason.”

Burrow also gave credit to his offensive line, who were able to pull through after LT Jonah Williams left the game with a dislocated kneecap. 

“We have a lot of faith in those guys,” Burrow said. “Max Scharping stepped up today, and Hakeem Adeniji stepped up today. Jackson Carman stepped up and got in there after Jonah went down.”

• Bengals HC Zac Taylor notes that Williams is week to week with the dislocated kneecap and that G Alex Cappa is also week to week. (Ben Baby)
• Bengals RB Joe Mixon was fined $13,261 for doing a coin flip in a touchdown celebration in Week 18. The NFL considered the coin a prop, which is not allowed. (Tom Pelissero)

Ravens

No one in the NFL is ever happy when their season ends but there seems to be some extra discord in Baltimore with the continued absence of QB Lamar Jackson, who has been out since early December with a sprained PCL. Ravens HC John Harbaugh has been tight-lipped on Jackson’s status, so much so that Jackson felt the need to share medical info in a tweet to discredit speculation he was sitting out because of his contract. Jackson is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so there was already some degree of friction between the two sides. Sometimes friction leads to fire. 

“I see a divorce unless their doctors are privately telling them Lamar really can’t play because of the injury, which seems doubtful with the way Harbaugh has handled it,” a longtime exec from another team said via the Athletic’s Mike Sando. “I could see a trade next spring if they can get a high enough pick to get a new QB. Lamar appears to have a ceiling that Jalen Hurts poked through this year. Harbaugh is making it seem like they are tired of the situation. They will never give him the Watson-type contract he reportedly covets.”

An executive from another team absolutely felt Harbaugh was letting Jackson “twist in the wind” by not having his back regarding his health and a third executive agreed that it would have been fair for Jackson to expect some public support from the team. 

“That is absolutely how things are done, except for if your last name is Harbaugh, right?” the third exec said. “That is what him and his brother do, and there is one more guy who handles business like that — he wears cutoff-arm sweatshirts with hoodies, and his name is Bill Belichick.”

“Harbaugh is a power coach. It’s like it is 1983 and you’re going to get the kid to come back by saying he is an important part of the team and it’s not a serious injury, but that doesn’t work in today’s NFL. He tries to make it coy and tricky, but he wants to exercise power over players, just like the college coaches he comes from and admires.”

Still, there is a lot that would need to happen for the Ravens to get to a place where they felt comfortable trading Jackson, including lining up a replacement for the former MVP. 

“It is hard to get rid of a player who has helped you achieve so much,” one exec said. “You can only do that if you have a replacement ready on the roster or if the locker room is like, ‘We are good without this guy.’ They don’t have the replacement lined up, so it’s going to have to be a thing where the locker room says, ‘Eh, it is kind of messed up, what he is doing.’”