AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Lamar Jackson, Steelers

Browns

Browns fifth-round QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson spoke about adjusting to the NFL since being drafted by Cleveland and is hopeful that he can work his way into the backup quarterback role behind Deshaun Watson. 

“I’m going through the whole practice,” Thompson-Robinson told Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “I’m a lot more comfortable with the ball in my hand instead of (repping) on air, but this is what I have to do. I’m locked in the whole practice. I’m not over taking a water break or talking to people. I’m making sure I’m locked in on the whole practice, every call, and just trying to see things as if I would if I was in on that play. (I’m) just trying to get acclimated as fast as I possibly can. The main emphasis of the spring was just to learn. Just be a rookie who has to learn everything so I tried to take that approach and embrace that approach. It’s something I’ve never done before or had to do. I’ve been thrown in the fire previously but here there are no (immediate) expectations. Just come in, learn the system, and take in everything I can from the guys already here. Just play the catch-up game and try to stay consistent.”

“Honestly, it’s like pulling teeth at times,” Thompson-Robinson said of going from college starter to pro backup. “It’s different. Obviously, you want to be the guy, you want to be in Deshaun’s shoes. But there’s a role for me to play here, and there’s a timing to everything. This is a job, and my job now is (to) embrace the role and the system and learn everything the coaches throw at me. There’s a great plan here for my role and my development so I just have to take it one step at a time. Obviously, I’m working as hard as I can to push to be a backup and one day be a starter in this league, but right now it has to be just one step at a time, one snap at a time and just learning as much as I can.”

Thompson-Robinson also spoke about the love he has for his new coaches in Cleveland, as well as the organization, as he believed they were a good fit for him after they were the first team that offered him a pre-draft visit. 

“It’s just a blessing to have this coaching staff and these (older) quarterbacks in the room to help me make sure I’m focused on the basics and trying to (master) this offense,” Thompson-Robinson said. “My mentality is always to compete, want to play, always be working to play. Even though I know in the back of my head that’s never supposed to be a possibility and I’m just a rookie learning the ropes, I’m working to be ready to play in September. The coaches do a great job of letting me know this process isn’t quick or easy. (They) keep me focused on the big picture. I run over (to take) extra reps with Dobbs during the special teams periods. All the guys in the quarterback room have been a tremendous help to me since I’ve been here. There’s not any competition; it’s everybody trying to help each other out. I’m begging for all the extra reps I can get. I don’t want anybody to get sick of me, but I’m going to be asking. Any competitor is going to crave the chance to play whether it’s in practice, the preseason, whatever. I just have to get myself ready for whatever chances come.”

“The Browns were the first team to offer me a (pre-draft visit), so that was special,” Thompson-Robinson continued. “But once I got here, I fell in love with the system and thought it was very similar to what we ran at UCLA. Right away on the visit I thought I really started to gel with (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt, I really liked Coach Stefanski and (general manager) Andrew Berry. My mom grew up in Ohio so I know this area a little. I just went into the draft thinking the Browns were a fit, so I’m grateful it worked out. And all I can do is keep working, keep studying, and keep reminding myself that I’m a rookie who has a lot of work to do. I don’t just want the chance to play (this summer). I want to earn every chance I get.”

Ravens

Ravens HC John Harbaugh joked with reporters about Baltimore’s new wide receivers after some members of the media were concerned that no free agent wide receivers would want to join the team to play alongside star QB Lamar Jackson. 

“Yes, it’s exactly what we had in mind, of course. I envisioned us doing the best we could and ignoring much of the media reports that receivers didn’t want to come here and all that nonsense, and that’s what you do,” Harbaugh said, via RavensWire.com. “I feel like this is a great destination for any player – all the time – especially [for] guys that love football. Now, if you don’t like football, and you don’t like to practice, you don’t like to lift weights, you don’t like meetings and that’s not your thing, then you definitely don’t want to come to Baltimore. But if you like football, you love football, and you like to compete and you’re tough and you’re smart and you like to be a good teammate, this is definitely the place for you, and those guys saw that. Now we’ve got to go get good. I mean, ‘OK, how good are we?’ We’re as good as we play, and that’s the next step.”

Steelers

The Steelers will be breaking in some young guns in the secondary this season but S Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t plan to change his style and all of a sudden become more vocal as a leader. 

“I’m not the type of guy that is going to be screaming and yelling and telling people what to do,” Fitzpatrick said via USA Today’s Curt Popejoy. “I’m going to try and lead by example, and if they want to follow they can follow.”