AFC Notes: Browns, Bill Belichick, Patriots, Ravens

Browns

Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones said it will be strange to face off with Saints WR Jarvis Landry in Week 16 after being his teammate in Cleveland through the first two years of his career.

“That will be different,” Peoples-Jones said via Ashley Bastock of Cleveland.com. “That will be different. But I love Jarvis, so I’m excited to see him.”

Peoples-Jones said that he often studied Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. when both were on the Browns. 

“Just ball drills, a lot of ball drills,” Peoples-Jones said. “Those guys are leaders. The impact I feel like that those two made on young kids careers, you can’t really measure it. You can’t really measure it, the things that those guys do, what kids emulate to be at a young age. Those guys are awesome.”

Peoples-Jones added that he was sad to see Landry go and playing alongside the veteran receiver meant a lot to him. 

“I would say it was because I loved playing with him,” Peoples-Jones said. “Just the competitor that he is, the dog that he is on the field. What he meant to me in my growth and development on the field and off the field. Like, I said, he was a role model, a leader, and that’s Jarvis Landry.”

• The Browns have ruled out DE Jadeveon Clowney (concussion) from Week 16. (Chris Easterling)

Patriots

• The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes Patriots owner Robert Kraft‘s end-of-year meeting with HC Bill Belichick is going to be pivotal. New England hasn’t won a playoff game in three seasons and Kraft has made it clear he’s well aware of that fact. 
• Howe says Belichick will need to have a strong plan for how he’s going to address the offense, including whether he plans to bring back Matt Patricia as the play-caller again. Kraft doesn’t usually meddle but Howe notes bringing back Patricia might be a non-starter. 
• Patriots LS Joe Cardona has a torn tendon in his foot and won’t play again this season. He is expected to be fully recovered by the spring. (Mike Reiss)
• The NFL and NFLPA announced that they found no wrongdoing in Patriots WR DeVante Parker‘s concussion evaluation in Week 15 and there were no violations of the concussion protocol. (Tom Pelissero)
• The play in question was when Parker participated in the following play after taking a shot to his head. 

Ravens

Ravens HC John Harbaugh said that recently signed WR Sammy Watkins will likely play in Week 16 against the Falcons. 

“We’re probably going to play him,” Harbaugh said, via Clifton Brown of the team’s official site. “He looks great. There was some familiarity with the offense, and I’m really, really happy and excited to have him.”

Watkins said he must catch up on “certain situations” in their system but is confident that he’ll be prepared. 

“Definitely have to do a lot of catching up on certain situations in the game and certain packages,” Watkins said. “I’m a vet. I’ve been there before to where I had to pick up on stuff pretty quick. I’ll get in the film room with coaches and try to catch up as fast as I can. Whatever they ask me to do, whether I’m playing or not, I should be prepared.”

Ravens OC Greg Roman points out that Watkins is already familiar with their system from his time on the team last season. 

“It’s not like we’re getting somebody that’s never been here,” Roman said. “That’s huge. To get a quality player like him this time of year – it’s almost unheard of.”