AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Rashod Bateman

Browns

• Per Chris Easterling, Browns CB Denzel Ward has cleared the concussion protocol. 
• Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said while RB Nyheim Hines is not off the NFI list yet, he could be cleared this week. (Tony Grossi)

Ravens

Ravens OC Todd Monken is expecting big things out of WR Rashod Bateman this year and said the main goal is keeping him healthy.

“Well, you’d have to ask him in terms of for him. I think he’s always had a belief in himself as a player,” Monken said, via Ravens Wire. “I think it’s good for all of us; quarterbacks, [as well as] collectively as a team. We’re expecting a big year from Rashod [Bateman]. Once he got fully healthy, which wasn’t for a while last year – he was hurt, got healthy, got nicked up again, came on. We’re expecting great things from him, and he is from himself.”

Ravens

When Ravens TE Mark Andrews went down in the 2023 season, TE Isaiah Likely stepped in and performed admirably in his absence. Baltimore HC John Harbaugh spoke highly of Likely and thinks they have the best tight-end duo in the league.

“I love ‘Zay’ [Isaiah Likely]. He’s a playmaker,” DeCosta said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “He’s got route-running ability — [he’s] similar to a receiver in some ways. [He’s] strong after the catch; that’s something that going back to college when I evaluated him, that’s the one thing you kind of hung your hat on, ‘This guy was dangerous with the football in his hands.'”

“He’s another guy — I’ve seen an urgency with him. His leadership, interaction with other players … He’s kind of changed from being a rookie to being a vet, and I just feel like he and Mark Andrews will be the best tandem at their position in the league and really create a lot of problems for opposing defensive coordinators.”