AFC Notes: Bengals, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

In his first news conference with the Bengals, QB Joe Burrow said he has high aspirations in his first season in the NFL.

“Going into my rookie year I expect to play well and I expect to win a lot of games,” Burrow said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “If I look back now, I’m doing myself a disservice and the team a disservice. It feels great to immediately have the trust of the coaching staff. I’ve come a long way in the last three to four years in that aspect. It feels great coming in and knowing that they have my back and that if I make a mistake in practice that I’m not going to get benched.”

Burrow confirmed that he was able to throw to rookie WR Tee Higgins and mentioned that he was excited about the Bengals’ second-round pick.

“I’m really excited about Tee,” Burrow said. “I was very impressed the couple of times I threw with him. I think he’s going to be a really, really great player for us.”

Burrow also downplayed the long-term expectations for him in Cincinnati.

“I try not to pay attention to all that stuff,” Burrow said. “My job here is to be the best I can today and get better every single day. That’s all I’m focused on right now. I let everybody else do all that talking.”

• Bengals rookie LB Markus Bailey, who was on the Non-Football Injury list, passed his physical today.

Ravens

• Ravens first-round pick LB Patrick Queen said of the pressure he’s facing to start as a rookie: “It’s not challenging. It’s exciting. It’s a great feeling to embrace what you’ve been working for your whole life.” (Jeff Zrebiec)
• Queen mentioned that his goals are “sky-high“: “My goals are sky-high. I’m trying to be the great all-time player that everyone expects me to be.” (Zrebiec)
• Ravens rookie RB J.K. Dobbins admitted that it was “kind of shocking” he fell as fas as he did in the draft: “I don’t need any fuel but it added fuel. It was kind of shocking but I fell to the right team.” (Jamison Hensley)

Steelers