AFC Notes: Brandon Aiyuk, Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

Browns C Nick Harris reflected on his sudden trade from the Seahawks to Cleveland this week. 

“Yeah, I mean I got the news,” Harris said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Packed up my stuff, got on a red eye, got here this morning at 6. At the walkthrough now, talking to y’all.”

Harris played out the duration of his rookie contract with the Browns and signed with the Seahawks as a free agent this offseason. He was glad to return to Cleveland. 

“I’m glad to have a job,” Harris said. “I have an opportunity to come back and just compete in a place I’m comfortable in, and it feels good to see all my teammates again and see everybody around the building. So I can’t complain at all.”

Browns C Luke Wypler suffered an injury in Cleveland’s recent preseason game against the Packers and thinks can give some advice to Wypler based on his experience with similar injuries. 

“I mean, it’s definitely rough,” Harris said. “As soon as I saw it, I let him know if there’s anything I can help you with, if there’s somebody you want to talk to about it, just let me know because like you said, I know how that feels. It’s a tough situation to be in, so I hate to see that. It sucks to see because I know he was working hard and doing what he needed to do out here.”

Ravens

Baltimore RB coach Willie Taggart has been blown away by RB Derrick Henry‘s desire for perfection at this stage in his career. 

“It’s like the damnedest thing ever. He wants to be perfect on everything. We love it,” Taggart said, via Ryan Mink of the team’s website. “He’ll eventually come around, but probably the first two plays after a mistake, he’s going to be ticked off.”

• According to Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens OL coach Joe D’Alessandris was hospitalized due to an “acute illness,” which will require ongoing treatment for an extended period of time.
• He’ll be replaced as OL coach for the time being by George Warhop, who was recently added to the staff. 

Steelers

Steelers second-round C Zach Frazier is making his case to be one of the team’s starters on the offensive line.

“He’s one of the guys I’m talking about,” Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said, via Steelers Wire. “He was in the stadium on Friday. He’s got that in stadium exposure. So it’s reasonable to expect him to be significantly better. Next week we are going to position him to do so with an increased workload.”

• Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers “remain motivated” to get a deal done for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, but talks with San Francisco have turned “quiet in recent days” with the organization deciding whether to extend Aiyuck at a certain price point.
•  Fowler cites a source who contends Pittsburgh is “one phone call away” on the deal and has the parameters in place.