AFC Notes: Browns, Colts, Steelers

Browns

According to Browns HC Hue Jackson, there were other teams looking to acquire QB Tyrod Taylor from the Bills before they agreed to send Buffalo a third-round pick a few weeks ago.

“Maybe people don’t think Tyrod has performed as well as he has because he’s not talked about as an upper-echelon guy in the league, but the guy has performed really solidly over the last several years,” Jackson said, via Ohio.com. “He’s made some tremendous plays. He’s led teams to the playoffs and winning seasons. He’s stayed healthy. He hasn’t turned the ball over, and those are things coaches look for. I’m just happy we got him. I know for a fact other teams wanted him, too. I think we’re fortunate to have this guy as our starter.”

Colts

New Colts HC Frank Reich explained their reasoning for adding TE Eric Ebron in free agency and how they plan to utilize him this season.

“There is a lot of man coverage in this league — the league is going more and more man coverage — so, now you put an elite tight end on the backside, it’s like clearing it out for LeBron, or something, in basketball,” Reich said, via the Indianapolis Star. “Just get everybody on one side of the court and get this guy one-on-one. Well, that’s the analogy here. So, in football, get all the receivers on one side, get the back on the other side, and then just put the tight end back here and see what [the defense] does. And some teams will double him. And then you get a linebacker, you get a safety, and if you get a tight end like Ebron — and even when they have a corner on him, you feel like it’s still a winning matchup, because of his size and catch radius.”

Steelers

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert mentioned during an interview with Pro Football Talk that franchise RB Le’Veon Bell will be back with the team for the 2018 season and they’re hoping he’ll be in attendance for the start of training camp.

“[H]e’ll be a Pittsburgh Steeler in 2018,” Colbert said. “Unless he did something that he didn’t do last year, I think we can assume that if we don’t get a long-term deal done he’ll show up and he’ll be as ready as he can be. Ideally, [we] would love to have him there for training camp. Not only for himself but for the rest of the team.”

Regarding the possibility of the Steelers rescinding the franchise tag, Colbert says it’s “not a probability.”

“I always say that of course it’s a possibility but not a probability,” Colbert said. “We wouldn’t have tagged him if we ever felt that. Right now, we know that Le’Veon will play for us in 2018 if he plays anywhere. That part would never be — I wouldn’t say never because something crazy can always happen. But that wouldn’t be a probability.”

According to Colbert, they plan to open extension talks before the July deadline to negotiate with franchise players.

“We’ll try to reinstate those talks,” Colbert said. “Not on July 14th. Hopefully, we can maybe address it quicker than that.”