AFC Notes: Bengals, Ravens, Steelers, Mitch Trubisky

Bengals

Bengals DE Joseph Ossai was clearly devastated on the sidelines following his unnecessary roughness penalty that turned a potential 60-yard field goal into an easier 45-yard kick by Chiefs K Harrison Butker.

Several of his teammates were quick to defend him along with HC Zac Taylor, who told him he loved him and to keep his head up.

“It means the world to me. These guys mean a lot to me,” Ossai said, via Jay Morrison of The Athletic. “It’s giving me peace right now for sure. It’s extremely hard. I was in full chase mode, and I was trying to push him to maybe get him going backward because I knew he was going for that sideline. I was trying to make him go backward, and get that clock running. I didn’t know how far out of bounds we were.”

“This time last year I was on the couch,” Ossai added. “Just being able to be in this game and being in this stadium, be in this locker room with these guys, it’s a blessing. I thank God for that. I’m sorry things didn’t go our way. We’re one big family. It’s not fake. When the going gets tough, we don’t start pointing fingers. We lift each other up. I’m just happy I’ve got this group of guys around me, supporting me right now. Because it’s hard. I’ve just got to learn from experience. In a dire situation like that, I’ve got to do better.”

Teammates S Vonn Bell and DE Sam Hubbard spoke in defense of Ossai.

“We’ve just got to be there for each other,” Bell said. “I’m gonna be there for him. That’s my brother. Tough situation. We just can’t blame it on him. He was trying to make a play, chasing the quarterback. Pursuit. We are all here for him. It’s not just on him. It’s a collective unit.”

“B.J. and I should’ve made that play,” Hubbard said. “It shouldn’t even have come down to that, so we blame ourselves. Nobody blames Joseph. He was playing as hard as possible. That’s why we’re great, we play with amazing effort. Sometimes that’s just how the game goes.”

“He’s an amazing player, and an amazing person,” Hubbard added. “It should not be focused on him. There were a million opportunities for us to win the game, including myself losing contain. I put that on me, not on Joseph.”

• Bengals LB Germaine Pratt on potentially returning next season, despite being a free agent: “Absolutely I want to be back. But if they don’t want me back, then…” (Paul Dehner)

Ravens

• The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec writes that while Ravens DL Calais Campbell was expected to retire after this season, he left the door open to coming back. If that’s the case, Zrebiec says Baltimore will have a hard time keeping Campbell on his current contract and will likely have to release him unless they can work something out. 
• He adds the Ravens would like to have G Kevin Zeitler back but retirement is also something to keep in mind as a possibility with him. 
• Zrebiec mentions that ideally the Ravens would be able to trade S Chuck Clark but given how much they’ve invested at safety, it’s unlikely he’s back with the team in 2023. 
• Zrebiec notes Ravens RB Gus Edwards is a candidate for a release, pay cut or perhaps a short-term extension to lower his cap hit in 2023, which is high for a No. 2 running back.
• Ravens LB Justin Houston is set to be a free agent but Zrebiec thinks it makes a lot of sense for the two sides to have another season together on a reasonable deal, if Houston wants to play at age 34.  
• Zrebiec points out the Ravens might need to use a second-round tender to ensure they don’t lose backup QB Tyler Huntley with no compensation, even though it’s almost twice as much as the original round tender. 

Steelers

Steelers President Art Rooney II wants the team to retain QB Mitchell Trubisky as the backup to QB Kenny Pickett next season, a role which saw him pressed into action a couple of times when the rookie went down.

However, Trubisky will count for $10.6 million toward the Steelers’ 2023 salary cap and the team could save $8 million by trading or releasing him. That’s a steep cost for a backup quarterback. 

“I expect Mitch will be on the roster next year and be an effective backup if we need him,” Rooney said, via SteelersNow.com. “I think he showed that he can be that. We can win with him.”